Exact moment Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield 'fell out' on This Morning identified

The pair were once close friends and even holidayed together with their families but have not spoken in recent times

The catalyst for the reported fallout between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield has been unveiled. Allegedly, Holly was left seething when her former close friend and co-host Phillip declined to let her host This Morning solo for International Women's Day.

It's thought that this incident marked the beginning of their distancing from each other, eventually becoming total strangers. Insiders suggest that Phillip feels his ex-friend betrayed him when he stepped back from all ITV work following his admission of an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a significantly younger colleague, despite previously denying any allegations related to the affair.

Now, it's suggested in a report that Holly was "incandescent" with anger after Phillip's refusal to let her present alone for the day. It's alleged that Phillip found out about Holly's request when ITV boss Martin Frizell texted him, asking if he'd like to take the day off so Holly could work solo.

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The Sun reports: "Phil said Holly was 'incandescent' about the whole thing. The next thing the ITV press team had a call from the press suggesting that Phil had been difficult. It felt like an orchestrated coup, that perhaps Holly wanted to present the show on her own and didn't need Phil anymore."

In the end, Holly presented the first segment of the show alone, with an all-female production crew. She introduced the programme by saying: "Happy International Women's Day! Well look at this, this is a lovely way to start the show to celebrate International Women's Day.

"We wanted to start with the incredible ladies that help put this show together. From our hardworking runners and producers, to our wonderful crew and the incredible line-up of our This Morning experts. We are very proud to work with you amazing women, you are all brilliant, give yourselves a huge round of applause."

A source speaking to The Sun claimed that within Schofield's close circle, Holly is referred to as "the witch." They allege that he uses the hatted hag emoji when mentioning Holly.

The source said: "He dislikes Holly so much now he calls her 'the witch' when talking about her and sends the emoji to his mates if she comes up. He messaged Holly and told her, 'You brought me down.' He was furious and still is."