Piers Morgan has shared the details of his conversation with Phillip Schofield, saying the fallen “This Morning” presenter is ‘utterly devastated’ over his departure from the show.
The former Good Morning Britain (GMB) co-host has claimed that Phillip Schofield has confessed to him that he is ‘utterly heartbroken’.
The 58-year-old has leaked his private conversation with Schofield after he announced last week that he was leaving the show after 21 years with ‘immediate effect’.
The 61-year-old resigned from his role as host of the show amid fiery rumours of a feud between him and his co-host, Holly Willoughby, and pressures in recent weeks amid his brother’s sex abuse trial.
On Saturday, he announced that he would not be returning to This Morning, the ITV star was given only a brief and rather emotionless send-off by former co-stars Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary who fronted the show on Monday after the dramatic weekend which saw Phillip leave and Holly remain silent.
While a number of stars have come out in support of Phillip – including Piers, Rochelle Humes and Clodagh McKenna – the majority of his fellow ITV colleagues have remained tight-lipped about the situation, choosing not to share their opinion at all.
Piers even went so far as to call those at ITV ‘savages’ and ‘vipers’ over their treatment of the now-former host, who he feels made This Morning one of the most successful shows on the channel.
Despite previously feuding with Phillip himself, Piers has continued to back the axed TV presenter and has now revealed details of a conversation with Phil as headlines continue to be dominated by his departure and the collapse of his friendship with Holly.
Reacting to the media frenzy following Phil’s announcement, Piers described it as ‘brutal to watch’ but also ‘entirely unsurprising’.
Piers revealed that he has been in contact with Phillip this week, and confirmed that the TV star is utterly devastated by what has been said about him and feels hurt over the lack of emotion shown by those he once felt closest to.
Piers also hit out at the ‘cold’ tribute to Phillip by Monday’s This Morning presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, and explained why he feels the need to back his former ITV colleague.
Piers told The Sun: “I don’t know the full story behind Phillip Schofield’s downfall, but where I feel personal empathy with him is over the manner of his sacking. For ITV to not even give him the chance to say a proper goodbye to his large, loyal audience after 21 years struck me as needlessly churlish, and I know he’s utterly heartbroken about it because he told me himself.”
Defending his fellow presenter, Piers wrote: “Phillip’s not the evil monster he’s being painted as, nor is he the angel his previously halo-clad reputation suggested.”
