Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were accused of “ignoring the elephant in the room” as they returned to host This Morning on Monday.
Amid reports of a “feud” between them, the presenting duo were all smiles as they co-hosted the breakfast programme together.
Taking to Twitter, viewers commented on their return to the airwaves, and pointed out how awkward it must be between them.
Holly and Phil ignoring the elephant in the room during the news review on #ThisMorning #PhillipSchofield #HollyWilloughby pic.twitter.com/oynxAnd4ua
— Mark Scales (@IndeedItsMark) May 15, 2023
So how awkward is it on a scale from 1-10? 😂 #thismorning
— Alice (@alice2127) May 15, 2023
Then atmosphere between the two hosts on #ThisMorning is awful but good viewing 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/jn89GXgAUo
— Paulie (@hubbdog37) May 15, 2023
Phil and Holly
#ThisMorning pic.twitter.com/rVsLNSFlZT— ℙ𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕪 𝕃𝕒𝔹𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖 𝔼𝕤𝕢🦚 (@petttylabelle) May 15, 2023
Goodness. How awkward does #philipschofield look on #Thismorning
— Deb Anderson (@Deborah39662987) May 15, 2023
This is the first time they’ve appeared onscreen together since Phillip released a shock statement about their friendship last week, following claims he and Holly are “not as close as they once were”.
The 61-year-old told The Sun: “As I have said before, Holly is my rock. We’re the best of friends — as always, she is an incredible support on screen, behind the scenes and on the phone.”
“Holly has always been there for me, through thick and thin. And I’ve been there for her.”
Referring to his brother’s recent sex abuse trial, Phillip continued: “The last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us. My family went through a real ordeal.”
“And Holly’s support throughout meant the world to me, as did the support of my bosses at ITV, my editor Martin Frizell and the whole This Morning family, including our amazing viewers.”
A source close to Holly later told The Daily Mail that she was “blindsided” by Phillip’s statement, and didn’t know about it until she saw it online.
It’s understood ITV bosses have called meetings to discuss the show’s future amid their alleged “feud”.
According to the UK Mail on Sunday, Holly wants to begin contract negotiations sooner rather than later.
A source close to Holly told the publication: “Don’t be surprised if you never see them together again, apart from on camera. This has all been so heartbreaking for Holly, but she knows she has to stand on her own two feet and cut the strings.”
“Nobody ever thought it would end like this. They were part of one another’s families and they spent a lot of their weekends socialising. She has tried so hard.”
It’s been an eventful few months for the duo, as they both came under fire when they were accused of skipping the queue to see the Queen lying-in-state last September.
Phillip was also recently absent from This Morning for a few weeks during his brother’s sex abuse trial, and Holly was struck down by the shingles.
