Could this be the end for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield? Claims ITV duo are ‘barely speaking’

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Scofield were once the nation's favourite TV presenting duo - after Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly - but the pair have dwindled down our favourite's list and it appears their friendship has too. 

ITV’s This Morning presenter's relationship is rumoured to be a little frosty of late with sources claiming the pair ‘barely speak’ off camera and Holly would be happy presenting the show if Phil ever wanted to leave. 

Speaking to The Sun a source explained  “Holly adores This Morning and for the first time in 14 years she has made it clear that should Phil ever leave she would want to stay. They are separate entities. It has become an open secret that things aren't as rosy as they once were.

“To those around them on set, it has become clear recently that Holly and Phil are not as close as they once were. Professionally you would have no idea there was anything going on because on camera they are acting exactly the same, but behind the scenes their relationship has cooled.”

The pair first met in 2006 when they presented the first ever series of Dancing on Ice. They got on so well that when former This Morning co-host Fern Britton left, Phil allegedly pushed for Holly to replace her. Holly and Phil have been presenting the daytime show since 2009. 

Over the years the pair have shared pictures of themselves holidaying together with their families. At one point they all went on an annual holiday to Portugal, Algarve every summer but it seems that hasn’t happened since 2019. Holly and Phil were both in Portugal last summer but it appears they didn’t holiday together. 

Holly and Phil have had great chemistry on the show over the years keeping viewers happy with their fits of giggles and silly banter. Even in 2020 when Phil came out as gay live on This Morning, their undeniable close bond was seen by everyone as Holly held his hand and they got through the emotional time together. 

Their friendship and popularity has dwindled as they faced backlash over the ‘Queue-gate’ saga. The duo were accused of skipping the queue to see the Queen lying-in-state last September. Although they publicly denied this it would appear that since then their friendship has become strained. 

The presenters were hit with the shocking news in March that Phil's brother was convicted of child sex offences prompting the TV host to take a three-week break from the show.

During this time Holly presented the show with the nation's new favourite Alison Hammond. The two went down well with viewers at home and fans are calling for the pair to present the show together more. Holly is still the nation's sweetheart and everyone loves Alison’s positive energy and infectious laugh; it would make sense to see them on TV more often.

Could this be the end of an era for Holly and Phil as This Morning hosts? We hope not.