Louise Minchin warns ‘the camera doesn’t lie’ as she questions ‘trust’ between Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby
FORMER BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin warned that ‘the camera doesn’t lie’ when it comes to TV partnerships.
In a new interview, the former daytime host questioned the 'trust' between Phillip Schofield, 61, and Holly Willoughby, 42, amid their reported feud.
Phillip was sensationally axed from This Morning after ITV bosses decided the show could not go on with him at the helm amid the feud with his co-star.
Ratings were in freefall as the pair attempted to put on a united front on-screen, despite intense speculation they were "barely-speaking" when the cameras stopped rolling.
This comes after Phillip's brother Timothy was sentenced to prison for 12 years after he was convicted of causing a child to watch sexual activity and three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
He was also found guilty of three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity and two of sexual activity with a child.
READ MORE ON THIS MORNING
Louise previously presented BBC Breakfast from 2006, becoming the main presenter for the show in December 2011.
The journalist presented alongside the likes of Channel 5 personality Dan Walker, where she admitted that trust in a colleague was important.
Otherwise she admitted the viewers would always see through anything otherwise.
She told : " You really have to trust your co-presenter, If that trust is gone it's difficult to build it back.
Most read in TV
"I don't know if it has [gone with Holly and Phillip], but I do know the camera doesn't lie. On television, body language is very powerful — even just a twitch of an eyebrow.
"Viewers can see what's going on and as soon as you, as a presenter, are conscious of it, it gets worse.
"Dan [Walker] and I always had each other's back and it was so important to know that.
The star took issue that Dan was always the anchor to first say hello and she lobbied bosses to change the format of the programme.
She exclaimed: "I don't like being confrontational but it was really important to me."
She went into more details in her book, Fearless Adventures With Extraordinary Women.
Louise explained: "I had already fought and won some important battles for equality during my TV career, including a bruising and longwinded fight to be paid the same as my male co-presenters sitting next to me.
"The other battle was to make sure women presenting BBC Breakfast were allowed occasionally to lead the programme.
"I had noticed that almost every day my male colleague was given the prestigious task of saying hello at the top of each hour, introducing the programme and doing the first interview.
"I thought it was unfair, unequal and also immensely damaging.
"There it was: age-old, systemic discrimination built into the fabric of the programme."
The former BBC breakfast star then said that she made detailed notes on dates and times over a three month period.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Louise found that the most of the time, the male anchor nearly always took the lead and so she arranged a meeting with her boos to try and make changes.
After presenting findings, changes were made as she explained: "From that day it was set in stone: every other day, the woman on the sofa was allowed to lead the programme, to be in charge."
