Amanda Holden and Phillip Schofield have dominated headlines in the showbiz world over the last few days, amid reports the pair are locked in a behind-the-scenes feud over a This Morning presenting role.
For those not up to speed with the row, or familiar with the pair’s shared history, here’s a closer look at their somewhat complicated relationship...
July 2014 – Amanda announced for This Morning role
Following the announcement that regular This Morning host Holly Willoughby was pregnant with her third child in early 2014, speculation soon turned to who would stand in for her while she took a year off.
Many names were said to be in the frame, but in July it was announced Amanda Holden and Christine Bleakley would be splitting the presenting duties.
Amanda was to be first up, covering from October to January, with Christine then stepping in when Amanda went off to film Britain’s Got Talent auditions.
Amanda then returned to host the final months of Holly’s leave.
The BGT judge was chosen to sit alongside Phil after they previously hosted The Sun’s Military Awards together, and at that time, seemed very excited at the prospect of sitting alongside each other every morning.
In a statement, Amanda said: “I have always been a huge fan of This Morning and love presenting with Phillip so I really can’t wait to get started.”
Phillip echoed this on Twitter, writing: “Really looking forward to working with lovely @Amanda_Holden again.”
September 2014 – Amanda takes up Holly’s seat
Amanda finally got to work on This Morning after Holly hosted her last show in mid-September, and immediately slotted in.
Viewers gave her a warm reception, and much like Holly, she had a lot of on-air banter with Phil – mostly thanks to their shared love of an innuendo, as this classic clip proves.
However, her time on the sofa wasn’t without its controversies, as Amanda was criticised for an interview with Kellie Maloney, where she frequently used male pronouns to refer to the transgender Celebrity Big Brother star.
July 2015 – Amanda signs off from This Morning
There were tears aplenty as Amanda bid viewers of the ITV show goodbye after nine months, and also thanked co-host Phil.
After being shown a montage of her best bits, Amanda said: “I have to say it’s been one of the happiest years of my life. I know it sounds dramatic but I’ve absolutely loved it.”
She added: “I’m going to be watching with you lot, back in my dressing gown!”
Phil also said he had “loved” working with Amanda and she had been “stunning and amazing”.
August 2015 – Phil calls working with Amanda “scary”
Less than a month after Amanda had finished on This Morning, Phillip was asked how he found working with her in an interview with Heat magazine, to which he replied: “She kept me on my toes.
“She has a faulty edit button and she forgets she’s on the telly, which is enormously endearing and funny, but occasionally quite scary.”
Phillip continued: “The great thing is she comes out with things. I’d look at her and think, ‘I can’t believe you’ve just said that.’ Even I wouldn’t say what she says sometimes and I often have one foot over the line. Sometimes nearly two.”
Hmmm...
October 2015 – Amanda’s back!
When Holly had a week off from This Morning that October, Amanda was called back to the show to once again host alongside Phil.
Relations between them still seemed as jovial as they had been previously, with the pair even having a Lady And The Tramp moment as they cooked up a pasta dish.
Amanda has since returned to host This Morning multiple times over the ensuing years – albeit teaming up with other stars, most recently presenting alongside Rylan Clark-Neal in October 2018.
August 2018 – Holly announced for I’m A Celebrity
After months of rumours, Holly was finally confirmed to be stepping in for Ant McPartlin to host I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! alongside Declan Donnelly in August last year.
Speculation soon followed as to who would be keeping her spot on the This Morning sofa warm while she was Down Under, with Amanda’s name one of the first mentioned thanks to her previous work on the show.
8 October 2018 – Amanda ‘confronts Phillip’
Amanda appeared on This Morning in early October last year as a guest, where she was interviewed by Phil and Holly about the legacy of her stillborn son.
While Amanda’s name was still linked to Holly’s job in the press, what viewers didn’t know was that bosses were only a week away from confirming Rochelle Humes as Phil’s temporary co-host.
A tabloid report published the following month claimed that Amanda already knew her fate at the time of this interview, and confronted Phil about losing out on the role during an ad break.
The Sun has since claimed that Amanda had indeed been lined up to cover for Holly but ITV had withdrawn the offer at the last minute, and that Phil had influenced the decision.
Feeling let down by her friend, Amanda is said to have called Phil out over the matter, but didn’t realise many of the show’s team could hear what she was saying as she still had her microphone on.
The paper quoted an unnamed source as saying Phillip was “lost for words” at Amanda’s allegations, but didn’t have much time to respond as the show was due back on air.
16 October 2018 – Rochelle confirmed as Holly’s stand in
Days after Amanda’s interview, Rochelle was confirmed as Holly’s stand-in, hosting from early November through to Christmas alongside Phil.
Rochelle already had history with the show, having hosted alongside her husband Marvin in the summer of 2015, as well as serving as one of the resident fashion experts.
She was also already a pal of Holly and Phil’s, as they all share the same agents – YMU Entertainment (formerly known as James Grant) – where Phil’s daughter Molly also works as Assistant Artist Manager.
5 June 2019 – Amanda hits out at Phil
After months of silence from each party, Amanda took a very public dig at Phil earlier this month.
During her fourth day presenting Heart’s breakfast show, co-host Jamie Theakston put some quickfire questions to her in a segment called Holden’s Hot Seat, which included asking Amanda which three things she’d least like to find in her home.
“Spiders, flies,” Amanda began, before adding, “And Phillip Schofield.”
Many immediately linked the quip to the story of her missing out on the This Morning role.
23 June 2019 – Reports of a feud resurface
Just a week after reports of a falling out between Phil and Holly over a Sunday Times Magazine cover, Phil made headlines once again when further claims about his and Amanda’s feud were published.
The Sun claimed Amanda had complained about Phil to top ITV boss Kevin Lygo at a meeting last September.
Amanda was said to be annoyed by allegations Phil had called her “difficult to manage”, with the paper also quoting an unnamed former ITV executive who claimed that Phillip had “actively campaigned for Rochelle to get the job”.
The source was quoted as saying: “[Amanda] was told he’d chosen Rochelle because she was easier to ‘manage’ on air – and understandably that incensed her.”
It was also alleged that a second ITV worker had complained about Phil being “overbearing” and contributing to a “toxic” work environment.
However, ITV was quick to deny Phillip had been instrumental in Rochelle’s hiring, saying in a statement: “Presenter line-ups on This Morning change regularly. Final decisions are made by producers, not presenters.
“Phillip is a much-loved broadcaster and part of the ITV family. He’s a consummate professional and held in high regard at ITV.
“Amanda is also held in high regard as a judge on one of our biggest shows,” they added.
23 June 2019 – Phil speaks out
As the story gathered pace, Phil reflected on the day’s headlines on Twitter later on Sunday evening.
While he didn’t specifically address the rumours of a falling out with Amanda, he did call The Sun’s claims “hurtful and wildly untrue”.
He tweeted: “The end of another really sad weekend. When you try for 35 years to be the easiest, most fun person to work with and you read such hurtful and wildly untrue stories from nameless ‘sources’.
“Obviously I’ll take it on the chin.. I just hope you know me better.”
24 June 2019 – Amanda speaks out (again)
Amanda addressed the latest report for the first time live on her Heart Radio breakfast show on Monday morning.
She was initially reluctant to speak about the rumours, but when pressed by co-host Jamie Theakston, she said: “I mean, you know it’s not great waking up to headlines like that.”
The BGT judge also revealed that she had tried to reach out to Phillip “months ago” by offering to meet up for a coffee. The outcome of that, she claimed, was that “he didn’t reply to my text”.
Phillip is yet to publicly respond to Amanda’s latest claims, while his representative did not immediately respond to HuffPost UK’s request for comment.
