Why did Eamonn and Ruth leave This Morning? What has he said about Phillip Schofield's ITV exit

The saga that surrounds Phillip Schofield continues on as a number of his This Morning and ITV colleagues have come out to scrutinise the disgraced presenter after his two-decade tenure at the broadcaster was brought to a halt. None more so than Eamonn Holmes, who previously presented the flagship morning show alongside his wife Ruth Langsford every Friday for 15 years.

Phillip had confirmed he had stepped down from This Morning amid rumours that he was embroiled in a heated feud with co-host Holly Willoughby earlier this month. Reacting to the news, Holly, who's This Morning future is still up in the air, wrote on Instagram that she enjoyed "over 13 great years" hosting the show alongside him and that "the sofa wouldn't feel the same".

ITV continued by revealing that he would continue on hosting the British Soap Awards and would be given his own programme in the near future, promises that were later pulled after Phillip Schofield resigned from ITV. A matter of days later, Phillip revealed that he had previously been embroiled in an affair with a younger male employee on This Morning before he officially came out as gay - and also confirmed that his agents at YMU Group had cut ties with him.

Now even further allegations have surfaced surrounding the atmosphere on set at This Morning, with a number of co-stars citing 'toxicity' and 'bullying'. Even Eamonn Holmes accused ITV bosses of covering up the scandal and silencing he and his colleagues before his and Ruth's departure from This Morning was confirmed around three years ago.

But what was the reason behind Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford's departure from This Morning and what has the presenter said about Phillip Schofield? Here is everything you need to know.

Why did Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford leave This Morning?

Husband and wife duo Eamonn and Ruth had been fixtures of ITV's flagship daytime programme for well over 15 years, but in November 2020 it was confirmed that they were stepping down from their Friday morning hosting duties. The pair were then replaced by Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond, who have since gone on to become fan favourites.

The announcement came shortly after Eamonn Holmes was scrutinised after Ofcom received over 750 complaints from viewers after the Northern Irishman questioned the links between 5G and the Covid-19 pandemic. He has since come out to state that his words were misinterpreted, but the regulator came to the conclusion that: "Eamonn Holmes’  ambiguous comments were ill-judged and risked undermining viewers’ trust in advice from public authorities and scientific evidence."

But Eamonn told the Daily Mail that he was never given a reason for the decision for him to leave This Morning - which could potentially be axed over the Phillip Schofield scandal - and has since made the switch to broadcasting competitor GB News. Wife Ruth Langsford remained on the books at ITV and has appeared on a number of its programmes since, such as popular panel show Loose Women.

What has Eamonn Holmes said about Phillip Schofield?

Ever since the curtain was brought down on Phillip Schofield's over 20-year tenure at both This Morning and ITV, as well as the revelation that the presenter had been embroiled in an affair with a younger colleague, one of his most vocal critics has been Eamonn Holmes. The GB News presenter has reacted publicly through exclusive interviews and on social media, alleging that the broadcaster did all they could to cover up the scandal and protect Schofield.

Speaking about the aforementioned affair with Dan Wootton on GB News, Eamonn explained: "It’s a total cover-up, those in authority had to know what was going on and they thought they would dodge a bullet with this. Which they do, and they do constantly, because with Schofield talking about those who speak out against him, namely me, Amanda Holden and you (Dan Wootton), you will be included in the toxicity that goes on - Dr Ranj, of course, as well - and you simply sit there and think ‘No mate, you’ve had it all your way for too long’."

Responding to not just Eamonn's claims of toxicity on the set of This Morning, but also Dr Ranj Singh who spoke about about the negative culture on the show and alleges he was "managed out" of the programme after whistleblowing, Phillip Schofield posted on Instagram: "This Morning is the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity. You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like. But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know, it is a family of wonderful, talented, kind and hardworking people."

Continuing on, Eamonn added: "I think that Phillip is absolutely right about toxicity, but my friend, the toxicity is not with me, Dan Wootton, or anyone else, the toxicity is with you. This nonsense that he wrote today about toxicity, about how (This Morning) is a happy place or whatever, holy God, what planet does this man live on? He created an atmosphere where people hated him.

"People would avoid him in the corridor. He didn’t look at anybody, didn’t know anybody’s name. Holly doesn’t know people’s names either, this is legendary within the production team, how distant they are, and how they just don’t care."