Holly Willoughby has been moving on from the Phillip Schofield feud by completely ignoring his TV comeback on Cast Away.
As well as his TV swipes, it has been reported Schofield Whatsapped Willoughby to say “you brought me down” after she refused to support him last year and it has been further claimed Schofield refers to her as a “witch”. Moving on from the drama, Willoughby has continued to totally ignore Schofield’s Cast Away comments and the rumours of their feud.
Once upon a time, they were inseparable whether they were drinking tequila and partying together at the biggest events in the showbiz calendar or going on annual family holidays. Side by side, they presented the ITV daytime show This Morning from the sofa for 14 years.
No one could have predicted their high-profile friendship ended the way it did. We take a look at what ignited the feud between them, what Schofield said in his TV comeback and how Willoughby has responded…
What happened between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield?
Speculation was rife in early May last year that best friends Willoughby and Schofield had a huge fallout. Hitting back at the rumours, Schofield called Willoughby “my rock” and said they were “the best of friends”.
In private, it was reported Schofield had asked his then-friend for a public show of support, either a statement or a picture together, but Willoughby stayed silent – only amping up the rumours of a fallout between them.
The day before the This Morning firing was made public, The Mirror have now reported that Schofield Whatsapped Willoughby saying, “You brought me down” – reports that Willoughby has ignored.
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Then at the time, Schofield resigned from This Morning after the scandal hit headlines that he had an affair with a younger male colleague.
In the first This Morning appearance without Schofield in 2023, Willoughby said she felt “shaken, troubled and let down”.
The following month in the June last year, Schofield said he “let down” Willoughby. He told The Sun: “I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down (Holly). I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down. Holly did not know (about the romance). And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.”
Willoughby stepped down from This Morning five months after Schofield when she become the target of a murder, rape and kidnap plot.
Holly Willoughby ignores Phillip Schofield’s digs
A year on, Schofield made a comeback to our screens on Channel 5 three-parter Cast Away and everyone has been talking about his TV return – including his former ITV colleague Eamonn Holmes who launched a scathing attack on Schofield.
Keen to distance herself, Willoughby publicly shunned Schofield’s return to TV by revealing she was at the theatre on the night it was airing on Channel 5.
Instead the presenter promoted the Abigail’s Party show at the Theatre Royal, in east London. From the theatre, the mum-of-three shared a selfie with EastEnders actor Tamzin Outhwaite. She told fans on Instagram: “You are simply incredible. If you get the chance please go and see this.”
As Cast Away hit our screens where the presenter was marooned on a desert island for 10 days to reflect on the scandal that derailed his high-profile career, Schofield appeared to make digs at his former best friend Willoughby.
A big moment following Schofield’s exit from This Morning saw Willoughby ask herself on live TV, “Are you OK?” At the time, all eyes were on Willoughby as she hosted This Morning alone. She told the camera: “Hello, firstly, are you okay? I hope so. It feels very strange sat here without Phil.”
Eyebrow raising scenes saw Schofield appear to mock the viral TV moment during a family BBQ. He asked his loyal wife Steph and their two daughters Molly and Ruby whether they were ok. He said on camera: “If you’re ok, then we’re ok, and I’m ok. Are you ok?” The “are you ok” sparked laughter among the group, including Schofield himself.
It wasn’t lost on viewers who claimed to spot Schofield’s cheeky dig towards Willoughby. Among the comments, one wrote: “Oooh was that a cheeky dig at holly Willoughby there Phillip?are you ok.”
Another added: “Phillip are you okay the holly shade plz #castaway.”
Schofield also took aim at three people who he referred to as “s**ts” in the TV world. While The Sun has speculated the identities of the three individuals, they remained unnamed in Cast Away. On Cast Away, Schofield also addressed queue-gate which was the start of the breakdown of his friendship with Willoughby, where the pair were accused of cutting the queue to see the Queen lying in state.
Speaking in a piece to camera, he said: “People can be fake. They can be so fake with you when it’s all going well, and suddenly utter, utter betrayal. There are a lot of amazing people in morning television. I think there are only three s**ts.
“One of them is a coward who never stepped up in queue-gate. One is a coward, because they never stepped up when I was being battered And the other is just brand-orientated. Not what you expect, not what you think you’re going to get.”
Since Cast Away aired, more talk of Schofield and Willoughby’s feud has been rumbling on but Willoughby has continued to ignore the conversation.
Yahoo has reached out to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield’s representatives for further comment.