With criticism towards Holly Willoughby intensifying following the resignation of long-time co-host Phillip Schofield from ITV, Carol Vorderman has got behind the anguished This Morning host. Phil, 61, confessed on Friday (May 26) that he had engaged in an affair with a much younger man whilst still married to wife Stephanie Lowe, before lying about it.
Schofield has quit all of his roles at ITV, and his career is now a shadow of its former self – but many viewers have turned their swords in the direction of Holly, 42, questioning what she knew and when.
This Morning has been a chaotic scene for months after Holly and Phil’s fall-out was reported, with the damn eventually breaking in the form of Phil resigning from his role as co-host last week.
With Phil’s future replacement being a hot topic, The Mirror reports that fellow TV host Carol, 62, has thrown her support behind Holly by indicating she should continue to present the show – alongside Alison Hammond.
Carol appeared on the BBC’s Have I Got News For You on Friday night, and was asked about her own involvement with the show, which she often appears on.
She said: “I do every other Friday with Alison and lovely Dermot [O’Leary].”
Show captain Ian Hislop then enquired: “So are you going to take over? Is it going to be Holly ’n’ Carol?”
Screwing up her nose, Carol declared: “No!”
She then said: “Probably Holly ’n’ Alison, I would have thought.”
The Friday night guest host, Steph McGovern then asked: “Is that where your money is?”
To which Carol replied: “That’s where I’d put my money, yeah.”
Last Saturday, May 20, Schofield stunning announced he had “stepped down” from This Morning, with his statement reading: “I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me – especially This Morning’s amazing viewers – and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.”
Former This Morning host and current GB News anchor Eamonn Holmes claimed that Phil had been fired, rather than been asked to step down.
This was before Friday, when perhaps more shockingly when ITV bosses were left “deeply disappointed” by Phil when he finally confessed to engaging in an extra-marital affair with a much younger man who work on This Morning while still married to Stephanie – and then lying about such activities when asked by the press.
Phil also revealed in his statement issued to the Daily Mail that he was stopping all his projects with ITV – including hosting next week’s soap awards.