Gone in 30 seconds: DAN WOOTTON reveals how Phillip Schofield’s fate was sealed after ITV bosses feared furious A-listers would sabotage him live on air – and the REAL reason behind his final falling out with Holly Willoughby
In just 30 seconds of emotionless TV, by 10am Phillip Schofield was gone for good from This Morning.
No best bits montage. No tributes from his co-hosts. Just a couple of still images and highly scripted praise of his live presenting abilities from Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, the two people who stand to gain the most from his brutal removal.
How could more than 20 years on the sofa end in such an underwhelming and lightning swift manner?
ITV bosses made the decision to deny Phillip a final victory lap as they feared there was a genuine chance the show would be sabotaged by either a furious regular or A-list guest.
I’ve learned at least four household name stars had plotted to ambush the scandal-plagued presenter live on air about a series of allegations about his behaviour, without the knowledge of show producers.
Phillip Schofield first appeared on the This Morning sofa back in 1998 (pictured)
Dan Wootton has revealed that Phillip Schofield’s fate on this morning was sealed after ITV bosses feared furious bosses would sabotage him live on air
DAN WOOTTON: In just 30 seconds of emotionless TV, by 10am Phillip Schofield was gone for good from This Morning
I am aware of the identity of the A-listers and regulars, but show bosses were not, making it impossible to risk such a reputationally damaging moment that would have gone viral around the world.
Such a moment would also have been impossible for Holly, who had already made the difficult decision to end her TV partnership and friendship with Phillip, worried about the damage the ongoing association could cause to her own reputation.
An ITV source told me: ‘The growing paranoia about what could go wrong was engulfing the management. They got through four days without any major disasters, even though it was obvious Holly and Phil’s friendship was over.
‘But if Holly had been put in the position of having to try and defend him from an attack on his reputation during the show by a regular or celebrity guest, it would have been an impossible position for her.
‘Everyone decided it would be irresponsible to put Phillip back on air, even for him to wish a final farewell to viewers. But that’s an extraordinary thing to do to a host after 20 years on air.’
This Morning’s former doctor Ranj Singh had already become the first regular to break ranks, causing more nervousness among the show’s embattled editor Martin Frizell and the channel’s head of daytime Emma Gormley, both of whom had ignored years of warnings and stayed fiercely loyal to Phillip until recently.
During an interview on the Secure the Insecure podcast, which was only released today but pre-recorded last week, the show’s resident medic for years admitted publicly what a number of This Morning stars had been privately discussing in frenzied WhatsApp conversations.
DAN WOOTTON: Despite the ruthlessness backstage, one of the keys to the success of This Morning and the wider ITV Daytime programming is the premise that its stars are one big happy family behind-the-scenes
DAN WOOTTON: Phillip’s crisis management PR team might be briefing stories that he has been ‘hung out to dry’ while the star is helpfully pictured with his elderly mother, there is limited sympathy (pictured)
DAN WOOTTON: The ongoing drama around Phillip and his behaviour risked torpedoing that myth
Doctor Ranj said: ‘I’ve had a bit of a wobble this week, where we’re kind of thinking, hang on, do I fit in here?
‘Does this align with my values? It feels like this isn’t the kind of environment that I want to be a part of. And there’s been a lot of negativity around various parts that we’re all part of this process.
‘Is this really a place for people like us where we’re thinking, hang on, this is not okay, you know, what’s going on and what we’re hearing doesn’t align with our values.’
Despite the ruthlessness backstage, one of the keys to the success of This Morning and the wider ITV Daytime programming is the premise that its stars are one big happy family behind-the-scenes.
The ongoing drama around Phillip and his behaviour risked torpedoing that myth.
I was the first to reveal Holly and Phillip had fallen out back in 2019, but his high profile coming out as gay and the trauma of the pandemic papered over the cracks until earlier this year.
However, as Phillip’s reputation was tarnished further as he was dragged into the court case of his paedophile brother, Holly decided to cut ties.
I’ve discovered the first signs of discontent between the pair came during a previously unknown fallout regarding International Women’s Day on Wednesday, March 8.
Holly, in conjunction with the show’s editor Frizell, had decided that there should be an all-female presenting line-up to mark the occasion, side-lining Phillip entirely.
But Phillip was furious about the plans and went over Holly’s head to Frizell’s boss Gormley to put a stop to them.
As a result, Holly was only allowed to host the first section of the show surrounded by the show’s female production staff, while Phillip was dispatched to a café down the road for a live item.
But he returned to join her on the sofa soon after.
‘Holly was livid about Gormley’s decision and the fact Phillip had undermined her, and made that very clear to numerous people at ITV,’ my source reveals.
‘It was the first real sign to This Morning staff that their relationship had fractured and Holly wanted to step out of Phillip’s shadow.’
As the Mail’s Katie Hind revealed this morning, it was significant that Holly used a pink ‘girl power’ heart emoji in her Saturday Instagram story wishing Phillip a tepid goodbye.
Meanwhile, the future of ITV Daytime itself hangs in the balance, with ratings for Good Morning Britain and Lorraine also plummeting following the departures of Piers Morgan and Jeremy Kyle from the line-up.
If ITV bosses hope the discontent over Phillip’s This Morning reign of terror is over with his effective sacking, they may be disappointed, with a host of stars remaining furious about the handling of the situation.
One household name told me: ‘There are still many questions for ITV to answer. Why have they stood by Schofield for so long, only to throw him under the bus the moment Holly said something?
DAN WOOTTON: I was the first to reveal Holly and Phillip had fallen out back in 2019, but his high profile coming out as gay (pictured) and the trauma of the pandemic papered over the cracks until earlier this year
‘So many of us had been making complaints and pointing out the negativity surrounding Phillipon and off screen for so long, only to be ignored. So what changed? Or do they only listen to Holly?’
ITV has always treated Phillip differently.
There was the costly decision, both financially and reputationally, when he handed then PM David Cameron a so-called ‘paedo list’ of names he’d found on the internet.
Then the scandal over skipping the line to view the late Queen lying in state to the fury of viewers, which became known as Queuegate.
Not to mention the discomfort caused behind-the-scenes when Phillip’s PA and personal runner – a male in his twenties– left This Morning to work on Loose Women amid unsubstantiated claims of a falling out with Schofield, even though ITV insists he was promoted.
There is also anger ITV still stands by Phillip now, offering him six months’ pay, solo hosting duties at the British Soap Awards and one further primetime series.
DAN WOOTTON: As someone who also felt the wrath of Phillip numerous times during my ten-year career at ITV Daytime, it is extraordinary that not one current or former star of the broadcaster has publicly spoken out in support of Schofe since his axing
A This Morning star fumed: ‘His behaviour has clearly been such that he’s only given a 30 second tribute, but then ITV is saying he remains part of the family. They may well come to regret that, especially if he’s booed at the Soap Awards.’
And while Phillip’s crisis management PR team might be briefing stories that he has been ‘hung out to dry’ while the star is helpfully pictured with his elderly mother, there is limited sympathy.
A celebrity whose career was briefly derailed because of Phillip told me: ‘He has ruined so many TV careers, simply because he decided he didn’t like someone.
‘He showed no empathy to anyone when they were brutally kicked off This Morning because of his particular whim on a certain day. There are wide celebrations among the most famous TV presenters in the country because he’s now going through that same experience.’
As someone who also felt the wrath of Phillip numerous times during my ten-year career at ITV Daytime, it is extraordinary that not one current or former star of the broadcaster has publicly spoken out in support of Schofe since his axing.
Not one.
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