Amanda Holden has weighed in on claims Ruth Langsford has lodged a formal complaint about This Morning co-star Phillip Schofield.
The Britain’s Got Talent judge has been embroiled in a long-running feud with the daytime star after he allegedly blocked her from landing a guest presenting role on the show last year.
At the weekend, The Sun claimed things had become tense behind the scenes of This Morning, with reports suggesting Phillip’s relationship with Holly Willoughby had become “strained”, as well as claims that fellow presenter Ruth had made a complaint about him.
As the reports were discussed during the showbiz news segment of Monday’s Heart Breakfast Show, Amanda’s co-host Jamie Theakston, commented: “If only there was someone here who might be able to help us with that story...”
Amanda initially remained coy, saying: “I’ve drawn a line under all those issues with Phillip.”
However, she did add: “Well, I’m just gonna say that I really admire anyone that sticks up for themselves because it is not an easy thing to do.
“There is a tin opener and there’s a can somewhere and other people have found the tin opener. That’s all I’m saying.”
ITV previously denied rumours of tension behind the scenes of the show, saying it was “deeply disappointing and unfair for Phillip to be the target of this sort of malicious gossip”.
The show’s editor, Martin Frizell, also told The Sun: “We have the smartest viewers watching telly and believe me they would be the first to notice any issues — they haven’t because there are none.”
HuffPost UK contacted a representative for Ruth after the story was first published, but did not receive a response.
It was revealed earlier this year that Phillip had fallen out with Amanda, following her short stint co-hosting This Morning when Holly was on maternity leave in 2014.
While it looked as though the pair appeared got along well on screen, they were said to have fallen out after Holly took time off from This Morning to co-present I’m A Celebrity in 2018.
Reports said Amanda had been told she would be filling in for Holly, but the job ended up going to Rochelle Humes, with The Sun suggesting Phillip had pushed for this to happen.
After it was claimed Amanda had been left fuming over the matter, she revealed she’d 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 has not ever directly commented on his fall-out with Amanda, but did call claims he was “overbearing” and contributed to a “toxic” work environment “hurtful and wildly untrue”.
ITV also denied 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.”
