Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in bizarre bust-up over magazine photoshoot as off-screen strains are exposed
FOR ten years they have reigned as king and queen of daytime TV, charming us with their easy chemistry and hungover antics.
But behind-the-scenes tension between This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby has culminated in a bizarre bust-up over a magazine cover shoot.
ITV insiders say their relationship came under strain after Holly, 38, stepped in for Ant McPartlin hosting I’m A Celebrity — helping ITV secure record viewing figures.
In April, the Sunday Times Magazine featured an interview with the pair. On the front cover, Holly was pictured wearing a cartoon crown, while Phillip, 57, was left bare-headed.
Phillip was livid with the article, and the mag was forced to write a letter of apology to his management.
The strain between the star and his co-presenter was apparent during a live special of This Morning at Birmingham’s NEC on May 16.
Last night a source told The Sun on Sunday: “To say there has been a bit of tension is an understatement.
“It all kicked off after Phil and Holly agreed to do the Sunday Times Magazine interview, part of their contractual press obligations with ITV.
“They did it on the understanding they would be given equal billing and the interview would be about their success and popularity as a duo.
“But when the magazine dropped, Phillip was fuming that Holly had a crayon crown airbrushed on to her head while he was crown-less and pictured grumpily looking on in her shadow.
‘It’s more than work – it’s genuine friendship’
“The article itself was brilliant and the cover was a bit of irreverent fun.
“But Phillip was pretty peeved, to say the least — not with Holly but with how he had been usurped. For her part, Holly was also quite mortified and felt terrible.
“ITV, who set up the interview, kicked off and his team promptly received a letter of apology to smooth things over.
“Tensions spilled out into the Birmingham live event when Phillip was grumbling about it. It quickly became the talk of the set.
“Phillip basically stuck his neck on the line for Holly and got her the job on This Morning back in the day. Understandably, the whole thing was a bit galling.
“Like all best pals, they have their ups and downs. But for both of them, their friendship comes first.
“Long-term, nothing will get in the way of that.”
Ever the professionals, the award-winning duo have not displayed a hint of awkwardness on air.
And off-camera, the pals appear back to their sparkling best, enjoying long, boozy lunches and even holidaying together.
Yet their relationship became strained on April 7 when the mag published the quirky cover headlined “Queen Holly”.
It featured a picture of Holly beaming and wearing a mocked-up diadem crown.
Silver fox Phil was pictured beside her, looking confused.
The strapline read: “How Holly Willoughby eclipsed Phillip Schofield and became Britain’s hottest TV star.”
The interview references a “few glimpses of spikiness” from Phillip while Holly hints that the pair do occasionally argue.
When asked if rumours the pair have never fallen out were true, the mother of three said: “I probably wouldn’t believe it either.
“I’d just think, ‘There’s no way’. But we see each other when we’re away from work . . . so it’s more than just a working relationship. It’s a genuine friendship.” The two presenters and their families holidayed together last year and enjoyed a trip to Portugal’s Algarve as recently as last month.
'Few glimpses of spikiness'
Phillip posted videos of the pair on Snapchat after a night out, including one of them making their way across a precarious wooden bridge and a photo of the smiling pair posing with a knitted teddy bear on the beach.
Earlier this week, they both took to social media to post videos and photos of another boozy lunch they enjoyed at a London restaurant.
In one snap, former model Holly is seen whacking a miniature, monkey-shaped pinata. Evidently, things are back on track.
Phillip, who has been married to wife Stephanie for more than 25 years, made his name on kids’ TV show Going Live! and the Children’s BBC “Broom Cupboard” alongside puppet sidekick Gordon the Gopher.
He joined This Morning in 2002 and first worked alongside Holly on Dancing On Ice in 2006.
The pair hit it off and were an instant success with viewers. When Fern Britton quit This Morning in 2009, Phillip turned to Holly.
The broadcaster — whom Holly has described as “the biggest feminist I know” — even threatened to leave if bosses did not give her the job.
Sure enough, Holly — who married telly producer Daniel Baldwin in 2007 and fronted the first two series of The Voice UK on BBC1 — landed the six-figure gig. The move paid off.
This year they clinched their ninth consecutive win at the National Television Awards for Best Daytime Programme.
They celebrated by riding on to the ITV set the next day on motorbikes, hungover and clutching their gongs, with guests the Hairy Bikers.
A source added: “Behind the scenes, Phillip is one of the most influential figures at ITV. He has been there a long time and has a lot of clout.
“Quite a few people are a bit intimidated. Even the network’s other big stars like Eamonn Holmes, Amanda Holden and Rylan Clark-Neal have had their moments with him.
“After all, you don’t get to where he has in the cut-throat world of daytime telly without a backbone of steel. No one wants to make an enemy of Phillip Schofield.
“But Phil is also incredibly loyal and will back those he believes in to the hilt. He is immensely talented, very popular and at the height of his career. He has earned this success.”
Certainly his relationship with Holly — who is also the face of Marks & Spencer and has put her name to a series of children’s books — has been tested of late. But his friendship with former colleague Fern, 61, dramatically soured once the pair stopped working together.
When she left the programme, friends claimed she felt “undervalued” by ITV execs and was “living in Phil’s shadow”.
‘Spiders, flies and Phillip Schofield’
It was also claimed she had discovered she was paid £250,000 a year less than her fellow presenter — and THREE TIMES less than him for the couples’ quiz they co-hosted, Mr And Mrs.
They had a Twitter spat last year when Fern mistakenly thought she hadn’t been invited to a bash marking 30 years of This Morning. Phillip accused her of “memory loss”.
More recently, Phillip’s off-air friendship with Amanda, a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, has also wobbled.
They fell out last October when Phillip allegedly scuppered Amanda’s hopes of filling in for Holly when she went Down Under for I’m A Celeb.
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Phillip instead backed the former Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes, 30, who was later given the stand-in job.
This month the 48-year-old actress reignited their feud on her Heart FM radio show.
Asked what three things she would not want to find in her home, she replied: “Spiders, flies and Phillip Schofield.” So much for the cosy world of daytime TV.
The TV double-acts whose smiles were just for show
THE supposedly genteel world of daytime telly has long been wrought with tense off-air battles.
Here are three TV double-acts whose smiles disappeared the moment the cameras stopped rolling.
EAMONN HOLMES & ANTHEA TURNER: The pair hosted GMTV from 1994 to 1996 but their relationship was famously fraught.
They have since patched up their differences but had a falling out back in the day. The Irishman dismissively labelled his fellow presenter “Princess Tippy Toes” in one interview.
Louise cries sexism over sofa seat snub
DAN WALKER AND LOUISE MINCHIN: Three years ago, tensions bubbled over and a sexism row erupted when Louise complained to producers after her co-presenter was given the left-hand spot – regarded as the better position – on BBC Breakfast’s red sofa. That was despite Dan being less experienced.
'Whoopi was as mean as anyone's ever been'
WHOOPI GOLDBERG & ROSIE O’DONNELL: The stars of US chat show The View famously disliked one another. They rowed on screen and off, with Rosie describing the Hollywood actress as “as mean as anyone has ever been”
She added: “Interacting with her . . . was the worst experience I’ve ever had on live television.” Rosie eventually quit the series.
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