Phillip Schofield has insisted he and ‘Dancing On Ice’ co-host Holly Willoughby are not in trouble with show bosses for calling contestant Gemma Collins “unprofessional”.
The ‘TOWIE’ star claimed producers had reprimanded the presenting pair for speaking out against her after it was revealed that Gemma had left the show’s studios early during a live show.
The GC insisted a miscommunication error led to her being told she could make an early exit and called for Phil and Holly to publicly apologise for their comments about her, hinting they had already been “told off”.
However, according to Phil, that doesn’t quite seem to be the case.
Speaking to Radio Times, he said: “No, we weren’t in trouble [for calling Gemma unprofessional] at all.
“What’s lovely is that it’s fantastic telly, it’s great to watch and I am so thrilled that Gemma is out there and doing it.”
Referencing Gemma’s heated clash with judge Jason Gardiner on last week’s live show, he added: “It’s brilliant panto. What you saw on Sunday is when two pantos collide.”
The row saw Gemma accuse the judge of “selling stories” about her live on air – something he has since spoken out to deny, calling the allegations “salacious” and “libellous”.
Meanwhile, Gemma has said she “had to say my bit” to Jason on last week’s show because she “don’t need to be body-shamed”.
“I put up with body-shaming for years,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what your size is, why shouldn’t I, because I’m a plus-size girl, be successful, be on ‘Dancing On Ice’?
“I will be get an OBE from the Queen one day [for] changing the women’s movement.”