This Morning host Phillip Schofield has addressed rumours of a supposed “toxic” environment behind the scenes of the ITV show.
Last year, it was heavily reported that there was serious tension among the cast and crew of the daytime show, which included claims that a complaint had been made about Phillip’s behaviour.
While at the time he dismissed reports of a “toxic” atmosphere, branding them “wildly untrue”, he’s now elaborated in an interview with Chris Evans on his podcast How To Wow.
He insisted: “The fact there was a toxic atmosphere in This Morning... there has never been anything like that. Everyone is equal, we all love each other, they were worried about me, we all talk about each other’s families and their lives, it’s a tight-knit team.
“The fact there was supposed to be all of this going on, absolutely and completely untrue.”
Phillip added: “If I was an arsehole, I don’t think I’d have got what I’ve got. And for people to say ‘he’s shocking to work with’, I didn’t recognise this man, how could this be true, how could this happen?
“The one solid thing I had under my feet was my security rug of my job. When that was pulled out from underneath me, that was a shocker…but I still maintained – and we had to maintain – this smiling face in the mornings, and sometimes it’s hard.”
Around the same time, it was reported that Phillip and co-host Holly Willoughby’s relationship had privately become strained, which they dismissed at the time.
Reflecting on this, Phillip revealed to Chris Evans that this was actually around the time he’d first confided in her that he was gay, and their relationship was, in fact, as solid as ever.
“There was nothing that was being said that had any truth in it whatsoever,” he explained.
“There was no and there has never been a feud with Holly. [Journalists were] writing ‘Phillip and Holly feud’ and we couldn’t have been closer because I’d told her my secret and she was holding me together at work.”
During the same interview, Phillip set the record straight over reports he and his wife, Steph, were divorcing, after he publicly came out as gay earlier this year.
He insisted that he and Steph had not discussed divorce, and that their marriage was still a “work in progress”.