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No rift here: Holly Willoughby would quit 'This Morning' if co-star Phillip Schofield left

(Getty)
(Getty)

Daytime TV star Phillip Schofield has been plagued by rumours of rifts with his co-stars recently, but one presenter loyally standing by him is Holly Willoughby.

The pair host award-winning ITV show This Morning, but Willoughby had been dragged into stories about Schofield over the last week with claims that she had fallen out with him.

Read more: Holly gets emotional talking about working with Phil

However, in a clip from Shopping With Keith Lemon, which is due to air on ITV on Monday 16 December, Willoughby put paid to any rumours of a row by saying she wouldn’t continue on This Morning without Schofield.

Lemon asked her: “So we see you every day with your TV husband, Schofield. What would happen if Schofield left This Morning? Would you stay or would it depend on who it is?”

She replied: “We said right from the beginning that if either of us didn’t do it, we wouldn’t want to do it. I can’t imagine This Morning without Phil.”

The pair began hosting together in 2009 when Willoughby took over from Schofield’s previous sofamate Fern Britton, and they also present Dancing on Ice together.

Willoughby and Schofield appear to have a close friendship and holiday with each other’s families each year, and Schofield broke his silence on the rift headlines to rubbish stories that they had fallen out.

He told the Mail on Sunday: “Can you imagine a feud between us ever happening? It's not as if we have to defend anything.

“It's a shame… we are so open on the show, we are so open online and we go on holiday together.

“Holly is the sister I never had, we think at the same speed.”

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He added that the This Morning team’s reaction to the story had been “what the hell” and that it was a happy ship.

Schofield has been battling reports of clashes with other presenters for months, with Amanda Holden claiming she had been passed over for the job of temporary This Morning co-host during Willoughby’s stint on I’m A Celebrity last year because Schofield apparently felt Rochelle Humes would be easier to manage on air.

Britton is said to have quit the show after reportedly finding out Schofield was being paid three times more than her, and Ruth Langsford is alleged to have complained to ITV bosses that he interrupted her during a preview of Loose Women, which follows This Morning.

Schofield has denied any rift claims, posting on Twitter over the summer that he had been saddened by the reports.