FLASHBACK
Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton’s This Morning fallout remembered amid Holly Willoughby ‘rift’
PHILLIP Schofield has been dominating headlines amid rumours of a rift between himself and Holly Willoughby.
Although the pair have denied reports, this isn't the first time he has found himself at the centre of a drama on the set of This Morning.
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Rewind back ten years to 2009, way before Holly joined the show, and you may remember that it was Fern Britton who hosted the ITV daytime show alongside Phil.
However, after a decade in front of the camera, she decided to quit - and she didn't leave on the friendliest of terms with her co-star.
Why did Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton fall out?
Phillip joined Fern on the This Morning team in 2002, presenting the ITV talk show every Friday.
Shortly after, he joined her on the sofa full-time.
All speared to be going swimmingly to those tuning in at home, but there was more to the story behind-the-scenes.
Then, in 2009, after a decade on This Morning, Fern announced she was leaving.
At the time, she reportedly told her friends that she'd had enough.
: "Fern is one of the best known faces on TV but she was living in Phil's shadow."
It was also claimed that she was being paid significantly less than her male co-star on the show - .
An ITV source said at the time: "As one of the most recognisable faces on TV she is not being paid anything like what Phillip is. Fern simply isn't enjoying the show as she once did. She felt she was living in Phillip's shadow and decided it was time to move on."
Adding even more fuel to the fire, Fern noticeably didn't mention her co-host of seven years when she released a statement announcing her departure from the show.
Fast-forward to 2013, Phillip confirmed there was no love lost when he confirmed they no longer spoke to each other.
During an interview with the , Fern's former agent Jon Roseman, who looked after her affairs while she hosted This Morning, opened up about her relationship with Phillip.
He said: "From day one he began to interfere with the editorial content of the show.
"His stranglehold was too tight by the time she recognised what he was up to. Their ability to work together was up there with the Eamonn Holmes/Anthea Turner friction.
"He befriended Simon Shaps, the then boss of the network centre. After this friendship, all bets were off ... he just got what he wanted."
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Why didn't Fern Britton attend This Morning's 25th anniversary celebrations?
One thing's for sure, she was definitely invited.
At the time, Fern said she couldn't attend as she had plans.
However, rumours were rife that she chose not to come to the celebrations due to her frosty relationship with Phil.
Did Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield spat live on air?
Awkwardly, tensions did rise when Fern returned to the show via video link to celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2018.
The former presenter couldn't hold back when she was asked to comment on the special Bafta tribute to the show, claiming she had been snubbed from the event.
She said: “Congratulations on Bafta. That was absolutely wonderful and brilliant, and I would have loved to have been there, but I didn’t get an invitation...”
Phillip suggested that she hadn't been invited as organisers were aware she was taking part in a play, however, she was quick to shut him down, insisting her diary was empty on the day of the event.
After the show had ended, Phillip then took to Twitter to insist that Fern had been invited: "Odd really, because she was invited and declined #memoryloss we’d have loved her to be there. A vital and much loved part of the show."
She then replied: "No. I had no invitation to decline."
A spokesperson for This Morning later released a statement saying Fern had been invited.
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What else has Fern Britton said about Phillip Schofield?
While speaking with Heat Magazine, Schofield admitted that he was no longer in touch with Fern and that they just had a very healthy professional relationship.
, stating: "I always say Phillip and I had an indefinable chemistry which seemed to work well on-screen, she said. "We 'got' each other.
"We enjoyed a laugh. And viewers seemed to warm to that. But, like Morecambe and Wise, we chose not to live in each other’s pockets. We were a great professional partnership but we never went on holiday together."
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Why did Fern Britton really quit This Morning?
Fern has since denied that the reason she left this morning was due to the pay gap or a rift between her former co-presenter Phil.
Speaking with in February 2018, the author claimed her exit from This Morning came at the right time.
"I did ten years of it and I loved that show - I can't tell you how much I loved it. But after ten years I just felt it was right to stop."
She also rebuffed claims that she had no idea how much Phillip was being paid.
The presenter said: "That certainly wasn't true, not least because I had no idea what Philip had been paid; I knew what I was being paid and it was more than fair."
She continued: "But it’s terribly important to find out where your ‘enough’ is because everybody’s different and I was very happy with my 'enough'."
What is Fern Britton up to now?
Following her departure from This Morning, Fern has transitioned into the role of a best-selling author.
She has now written eight novels and her most recent book called The Newcomer was published earlier this year.
Fern has also starred in Calendar Girls the Musical alongside Loose Women panellist and Celebrity Big Brother winner Denise Welch.
The opportunity to become an author arose when a publisher approached her to write a book after the success of her autobiography.
"I like being put out of my comfort zone", she said.
"The children were growing up and I wanted to have some more time at home, and it all just fitted very well. It's fantastic to challenge your mind, particularly creatively."
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