Amanda Holden slams reports of Holly Willoughby feud as 'utter rubbish'

Amanda Holden has hit back at claims of a “toxic feud” between her and Holly Willoughby, saying it is “utter rubbish”.

The Britain’s Got Talent star took to Instagram to set the record straight after a story said there had been tension for a while and that there was rivalry between them over jobs. The article also claimed that Holden had mocked the statement Willoughby made when she returned to This Morning after a break amid the Phillip Schofield scandal.

“The story in The Sun today about Holly and I is completely made up, full of contradictions and just utter rubbish,” she wrote.

Read more: Amanda Holden mocks Holly Willoughby’s ‘Are you OK?’ This Morning statement

“Sadly, this means every other paper will now write it too. So I have to put this up for a few hours to try and add perspective and truth.”

Holden said “strong and intelligent women have for far too long been pitted against each other when we should all be celebrated in our own right”.

“What a surprise the article is written by a MAN,” she added.

“The ‘rift’ story now circulating as a result of this article – which I have woken up to this morning and was not checked for factual correctness – simply does not exist.

“There have been some huge assumptions made this week and everyone has feasted on them.”

The star went on: “These types of articles need to stop. The language around women (in most pieces I read every day) is laughable. It’s so different to how men are written about. Women are still expected to say nothing, suffer silently and just get on with it. And we do… mostly.”

Holden, 52, also suggested that such stories were just there to “distract” people from the real news.

Read more: Phillip Schofield: Viewers say it's time to 'be kind' after 'upsetting' interview

“We are becoming a world which is gradually being eroded of all its best qualities – humour, backbone and truth,” she added.

Holden’s name has come up in many articles amid the This Morning saga, which saw Schofield departing and admitting to having an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger ITV staff member and claims of the programme being a toxic workplace.

Reports have claimed that there is no love lost between Holden and Schofield.

Some people have also suggested that she mocked the speech Willoughby gave on her return to the sofa, in which the presenter asked viewers if they were “OK”.

Read more: Alison Hammond in tears on This Morning as she says she still loves Phillip Schofield

Comparisons were drawn between that and one of Holden’s Instagram videos as she told fans she was “OK” as she showed off a white outfit, the same colour Willoughby was wearing for her speech.

Watch: Amanda Holden thinks Dermot O'Leary would be 'great' as Phillip Schofield's replacement