HOLLY’S SPLIT FEARS AFTER TENSE ROWS
Insiders say tensions are ‘sky high’ over more potential reshuffles at This Morning – after Dermot O’Leary is lined up as Phillip Schofield’s replacement should he quit
hey’re “best friends” who have been at the helm of top daytime TV show This Morning for over a decade – but insiders say Holly Willoughby has been left feeling “unnerved” amid growing speculation that co-host Phillip Schofield could be set to leave.
Last week, fresh reports claimed Dermot O’Leary is being lined up to work alongside Holly as a replacement for Phillip, 59, as a “back up” if he ever chooses to leave.
Last year, there were reports Phillip had been offered a multimillion pound deal by the BBC to lure him away from ITV when his contract comes to an end at the end of this year, though he denied the claims.
TPAY ROW
The latest bombshell comes just one month after reports that Holly was in “crisis talks” over her future with the show amid a pay row with her former agency. The company – which awkwardly also represents her close pal Phillip – is demanding £200,000 a year from her This Morning salary.
However, insiders now tell Closer that Holly is close to resolving the issue with the show, with bosses apparently agreeing to a salary increase to cover her loss, and she is said to be keen to stay on – but only with Phil by her side.
A source says, “Tensions are sky-high on the show at the moment. For Holly, it seems like it has been one hurdle after another. First she had to deal with the row with her former agency which led to tense crisis talks with ITV bosses – now she faces losing her wingman Phil. It’s all been very unnerving for her.
“She’s understandably feeling anxious and upset about the thought of Phil potentially jumping ship and them splitting up. She loves Dermot but if Phillip walks away, Holly will have a big call to make.
“She’s at a bit of a crossroads in her career, and any big changes around her might prove to be the tipping point that makes her consider a move in another direction.”
Holly, 40, and Phil went to great lengths to shoot down reports of a feud between them which surfaced last year – with the iconic duo denying rumours of a “toxic atmosphere” on set and making a series of gushing statements about their close relationship.
Last month, Phillip credited Holly for the “therapy” she gave him during his coming out process, after his tearful co-star sat beside him on the sofa while he made his emotional confession that he was gay live on the show.
EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE
And paying tribute to the mumof-three ahead of her 40th in February, he teamed-up with poet, Tom Roberts, to recite a poem to the “sister I never had”.
Reciprocating her adoration in a sweet Instagram post last month, Holly shared a snap of the pair with her seven million followers, which she captioned, “Dear best friend… I love working with you @ thismorning.”
However, rumours of tension behind the scenes on the show have been growing since a staff reshuffle, when regular husband and wife team Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes were replaced by Dermot and Alison Hammond on Fridays.
Alison admitted last month that she and Dermot had struggled to gel, saying it “felt like an arranged marriage” after being thrown together, adding, “We told each other what we didn’t like. We had a few private chats and said, ‘Oh, I don’t like this about you’, and the other said, ‘Well, I don’t like you when you do this’.”
MUTUAL DECISION
However, ITV is said to be desperate to keep its star duo Holly and Phil. The source continues, “Holly and Phil have always said if they leave, they will leave together or at least make the decision together with no animosity between them.
“They’ve had some slightly strained talks about it, but
Phil has assured her he won’t keep her in the dark. It’s been a hell of a year for Holly but, whatever happens, she’ll keep smiling through.”
It has been a testing time for Holly of late. As well as the frictions at work, she and husband Dan Baldwin have been embroiled in a bitter dispute with their neighbours over renovating their £2.8 million family home in Barnes, London. And in an interview last week, Holly admitted she and Phil had been “on edge” as they worked on This Morning during the “strange time” of the pandemic, adding, “We are all on the brink of tears all the time.”
By Daisy McLure