Yahoo News Piers Morgan stirs up tension between 'This Morning's Phillip Schofield and Ruth Langsford over NTAs speech
Piers Morgan has claimed there was an awkward atmosphere between This Morning presenters Phillip Schofield and Ruth Langsford at the National Television Awards.
The Good Morning Britain host stirred up tension between the pair as he commented on their acceptance speech at the 2020 awards, which saw This Morning win for the 10th year running.
Morgan jibed: “The best bit of that was when Phil got Ruth to say a few words on the stage, awks. Hashtag awks.”
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The clips showed Schofield thank the public for their votes, before adding: “Eamonn [Holmes] and Ruth – your Fridays are fantastic, we love you so much, you should say something too, I think.”
Langsford smiles before taking the mic.
Morgan said: “I think Ruth’s grin… How awks was that!”
When GMB co-host Susanna Reid claimed Langsford had shared a “family wink”, Morgan scoffed: “That’s the kind of wink Michael Corleone gives Fredo [in gangster movie The Godfather] – ‘I know it was you!’”
He added: “Don’t want to go there, it’s too much of a family.”
Today on This Morning Schofield and Holly Willoughby shared a selfie from the ceremony with husband and wife duo Holmes and Langsford, who present the show on Fridays and during school holidays.
Schofield said emphatically: “That’s our TEAM.”
In December last year reports claimed Langsford had made a complaint about Schofield to ITV bosses.
The claims came after Amanda Holden began a public feud with Schofield, linked to allegations he had sidelined her as a stand-in for Holly Willoughby on the ITV show in favour of Rochelle Humes, who was apparently “easier to manage on air”.
Read more: National Television Awards 2020 winners list in full
ITV has strongly denied any rumours about Schofield upsetting other presenters, with a spokesperson saying: “This is absolutely not a description of This Morning that we recognise.”
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.
— Phillip Schofield (@Schofe) June 23, 2019
Schofield has always said that the claims are not true, and tweeted in June to express his sadness about reports of him falling out with colleagues.
