Holly Willoughby has given a loving tribute to her This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield to mark 40 years of him being on TV.
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The mum-of-three's comments praising the "generous, kind and patient" presenter come after Eamonn Holmes claimed Phillip was "renowned for snubbing people" in an interview with the Daily Mail's Weekend magazine.
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Appearing on Lorraine Kelly's morning show in a special segment dedicated to Phillip, Holly revealed that Phillip pushed for her to join This Morning following Fern Britton's exit in 2009, believing that she was the "only one" who could do the job.
"I don't know why you were so convinced of that," said Holly. "I thank you every day because I know that, really, you were on your own with that school of thought and it was really down to you standing by that, that I got that job.
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"Without a doubt, it if wasn't for you, there is no way that I'd be doing This Morning today and I came onto the show and I was green and new. I knew how to do a bit of tele because I'd done Saturday morning but This Morning is a huge, grown-up, important, big tele show and I just sat there like a sponge and absorbed everything and learn everything.
Phillip Schofield is celebrating 40 years on TV
The presenter also added: "[Phillip is] so generous, so kind, so patient, willing to guide me through. He still does it now, I'll still look at him and go, 'You do this bit,' and he never looks at me like, 'Really? Come on.'"
Holly's loving tribute comes just days after Eamonn Holmes called out Phillip for "snubbing" his wife, Ruth Langsford, after he cut her off during a trailer for Loose Women on This Morning in 2019.
© Photo: RexEamonn Holmes called out Phillip for snubbing his wife, Ruth Langsford
"Phillip is renowned for snubbing people," he told the magazine. "He's very passive-aggressive. It's up to Ruth to say how she felt, but I was feeling hurt for her. No one would have snubbed me like that."
He added: "I have a good Belfast street fighter in me… I would be direct. I don't go for presenters who think they have a special privilege or aura or influence."
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