Phillip: My TV battles were never with Holly
PHILLIP Schofield has dismissed claims of a fall- out with co- star Holly Willoughby, saying his decision to come out as gay has made them closer than ever.
But the rumours of a row affected his mental health, he revealed, and he had no idea where they came from.
In his new autobiography Phillip, 58, also details real arguments with other stars, including Noel el Edmonds and Fern Britton.
But of the stories about Holly, 39, 9, which surfaced before he publicly y revealed his sexuality in February, he e said: “What no one could possibly know at the time was that we were closer than we’d ever been.
“Holly knew my truth and was as helping me to hold everything g together.” The This Morning double e act had been hit by reports that their ir relationship was on the brink and Phillip was jealous of Holly’s success.
He said of the claims: “It felt like e death by a thousand cuts, each little e wound not serious on its own but, colllectively, I felt like I was bleeding out. .
Feuds
“It went on, week after week, relentlessly feeding on itself and based on not one single truth that I could identify.” Phillip also details his fall out with presenter Piers Morgan.
He said he sent Piers, 55, some memorabilia to go with articles Morgan said he would be writing about Phillip. They never appeared.
Phillip writes in his book, Life’s What You Make It: “I was worried he may have lost all my mementos. We asked for them back. Nothing.”
A few weeks later, an unofficial biography by Piers came out. Phillip said: “I was furious. Not so much that he had written the book but that he had deceived me.”
They eventually made up and Piers returned the items, Phillip said.
But he has not made up with Noel, 71, who was his “TV inspiration”. Both hosted Saturday morning children’s shows – with Phillip’s Going Live! following Noel’s Swap Shop.
Phillip writes: “Sadly, many years later, he and I would strongly disagree over an interview on This Morning when he suggested that
‘ negative energy’ could cause cancer.”
Phillip said the row was a “terrible shame”. He also writes about clashing with Fern, 63, who co- hosted This Morning before Holly. Phillip said he tried to comfort her during the storm over her advertising Ryvita after having a gastric band. But the feeling wasn’t mutual, he said.“I always believed I was being a true friend. I always believed that I had properly got her back.
“If I made an error, to this day, I don’t know what it was.”
● ● Life’s What You Make It is out now from Penguin Books.