Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby: hosts fail to acknowledge 'feud' on This Morning - what happened?

The build-up to Monday's episode of This Morning has been like no other, as fans flocked to ITV's flagship daytime show. Hosting duo Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby have been rumoured to be embroiled in a heated feud in recent days, and the latest episode marked the first time they appeared live on TV together since the reports surfaced.

It followed days of speculation and headlines that circulated around their allegedly strained relationship, with reports drawing up their potential on-air replacements should they both quit their roles not just on This Morning, but also Strictly Come Dancing.

OK! Magazine, The Mirror and more have suggested big names such as Stephen Mulhern, Dermot O'Leary and Rylan Clarke could be the favourites to take Schofield's This Morning and Strictly hot seats as rumours continue to speculate that his days are numbered following the alleged 'feud'.

But as Schofield and Willoughby took their places on the This Morning sofa on Monday (15 May), what happened? Did the duo acknowledge the rumours, what was the atmosphere like and how did ITV viewers react? Here is what you need to know.

What happened on Monday's episode of This Morning?

It would be totally understandable if viewers who tuned into Monday's episode of This Morning were none-the-wiser about the alleged rift between Schofield and Willoughby because they did not acknowledge the reports or rumours at all.

Like most openings, the hosting duo opened the show with the newspaper review which takes a look at all the major publications in the United Kingdom, delving deep alongside guests in to what they cover. In what is surely not a coincidence, however, Willoughby and Schofield avoided any mention of This Morning so called "crisis talks" or the speculation of "legal action" from Schofield.

The Sun posted a front page spread that declared "furious Phil calls in lawyers" while a number of others ran with the line that the pair were holding "crisis talks" to save their relationship and This Morning. Instead, they discussed the weekend's news which included Eurovision 2023, space travel, working from home and more.

Schofield and Willoughby showed a united front against the rumours and kept going business as usual.

What did viewers say about Monday's This Morning episode?

Viewers were quick to rush to social media channels to pick up on the atmosphere of Monday's episode of This Morning.

On Twitter, one user posted: "Holly and Phil discussing the headlines when they ARE the headlines!", while another tweeted: "If I was in doubt about the rumours [of a rift], two minutes into the episode there's definitely real tension, no eye contact between Phil & Holly, it must feel horrible".

A user wrote: "This Morning with Holly & Phil, the definition of ‘grin and bear it’. The review of “today’s big stories” avoided some front pages. Phil’s reportedly called in reputation management. They’re pros, I’ll give them that. But brrrr.", while one more posted a tweet which says: "Holly and Phil's days are numbered".

What has been said about the 'feud'?

A source reportedly told The Sun: "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. To those around them on set, it has become clear recently that Holly and Phil are not as close as they once were. Behind the scenes, their relationship has cooled."

It had also been reported that the rumoured breakdown of their relationship was not helped by the duo's regular absences from the ITV daytime show. Willoughby took around a week off work to recover from shingles, while Schofield recently took planned leave around the time of his brother, Timothy Schofield's sex abuse trial last month, who was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two counts of sexual activity with a child. On his return to This Morning, Schofield posted an official statement released by his lawyer after the verdict to publicly disown his sibling.

Schofield released an official statement following the rumours of a rift with Willoughby on 12 May, which said: "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.

"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. Whatever happens, we still have each other to count on."