Phillip Schofield says he is ‘completely broken’ and accuses ITV bosses of showing him zero respect

Phillip Schofield is ‘completely broken’ and has accused ITV bosses of showing him ‘zero respect’ after he was axed from This Morning – which will today be hosted by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

Bosses at ITV will give him a payoff of six months’ wages after they decided his feud with co-host and former best friend Holly Willoughby was costing the show too many viewers, after 200,000 switched off. 

Holly, who has co-hosted This Morning with Phil for 13 of his over 20 years on the programme, will return to host the morning show on June 5 after taking a two-week break. 

ITV confirmed that Alison, 48, and Dermot, 49, who already host the show on Fridays, will appear on the sofa this morning – as ITV golden girl Alison is high up on the list of potential replacements.

Phil, 61, is said to have consulted his mother, ex-wife and daughters before making the shock decision to stand down from the show. The announcement came in the wake of his brother’s conviction for sexual offences against a teenage boy. 

The relationship between the two presenters, once feted as the closest on TV, had broken down, according to reports 

Alison and Dermot, who co-host the show on Fridays, will be on the sofa in their absence on Monday morning 

Former This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield has said he is ‘completely broken’ by his brutal ITV axing (pictured with his mother, Pat, on Sunday) 

A source close to the TV presenter told The Sun that Schofield has been given six months’ pay – thought to be in the region of £300,000 – by ITV. 

But despite the golden goodbye, the presenter feels ‘let down’ by the channel – which has now offered him just one primetime hosting gig.

The source said: ‘Phil feels he has been shown zero respect and he is devastated by how this has played out.

‘He thinks the way he was forced to step down was so unjust and he feels completely broken by how this situation has been handled.’

The source added that Schofield feels that he has been ‘knifed without proper consultation’ and that he had spoken to his mother, Pat, and ex-wife Stephanie before he agreed to step back. 

He also spoke to daughters Molly, a talent agent at his management company YMU, and Ruby. 

‘Phil has dedicated over 20 years to that show and for it all to end this way has been incredibly upsetting for him,’ the source explained. 

But he has received messages of support from industry insiders, the source continued. 

‘He has privately been sent a number of messages of support from friends in the industry.

‘It means a great deal to him that people are taking the time to reach out.’

Phil, a regular face across ITV shows for over two decades, will now be limited to hosting just one primetime show.

Insiders have told The Mirror that the presenter will return with either Dancing on Ice, The Cube or 5 Gold Rings.

Amid the media storm surrounding his exit from This Morning, the presenter was spotted with his mother Pat, 85, in Cornwall on Sunday, taking refuge from the media storm surrounding his exit. 

He was seen vaping and looking out to sea, onlookers said.  

After days of reports that Phil faced the axe at ITV, he took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal that he had ‘agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect’.

‘I’ve always been proud to cover fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story,’ he wrote online. 

Phil spent two hours vaping and looking out to sea as he made phone calls from his vehicle

Phil appeared downcast and glum as he made phone calls the day after he was forced out from presenting This Morning

‘Throughout my career in TV — including the very difficult last few days — I have always done my best to be honourable and kind.

‘I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.

‘So I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope the show can move forward to a bright future. I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me — especially This Morning’s amazing viewers — and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.’

Tension: The TV presenter, 61, bowed out of the show following reports of a feud with his co-host Holly Willoughby

The relationship between the two presenters, once feted as the closest on TV, had broken down and reports suggest that Phil had not told Holly about his brother’s trial. 

The breakdown of the partnership is said to date from her split from Phil’s talent agency, YMU, three years ago. Holly later won a £1million payout from the agency.  

She posted: ‘It’s been over 13 great years presenting This Morning with Phil and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour. The sofa won’t feel the same without him.’ 

Holly is expected to spend her time off with her family. 

A glum-looking Schofield was spotted over the weekend after his last appearance on the show

ITV is expected to announce a replacement for Phil over the next few weeks but that guest presenters will fill in with Holly until that point. 

Timothy Schofield was jailed for 12 years on Friday after being found guilty of sexual offences, including some involving a teenage boy. 

Phillip Schofield is expected to return to screens to present the British Soap Awards on June 3, alongside a new peak-time series. 

Who will take over as Holly’s co-host is now being hotly debated, with ITV’s search underway to find a replacement for the prestigious role.

Alison, 48, is currently the bookmaker Ladbrokes favourite to take on the role, giving her 2/1 odds. 

She rose to fame in 2002 as a Big Brother contestant and joined This Morning later that year as a reporter.

Alison, 48, is currently the bookmaker Ladbrokes favourite to take on the role, giving her 2/1 odds

Dermot, 49, who has appeared as a presenter on the show throughout the years has been given a 4/1 odds by Ladbrokes

Throughout her two decades on ITV she has been applauded for her ability to reduce even the biggest A-listers into fits of laughter.

Martin Frizell, This Morning’s veteran editor, is keen to pair Holly with Alison, who he promoted to a presenter role two years ago.

Dermot, 49, who has appeared as a presenter on the show throughout the years has been given a 4/1 odds by Ladbrokes.

There are also other contenders in the running to nab a permanent slot on one of Britain’s most popular daytime television programmes.

The Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes and her husband JLS star Marvin Humes, are amongst those in the running, as well as Rylan Clark, Josie Gibson and Gino D’Acampo.

The Saturdays singer Rochelle Humes is amongst those in the running to replace Phil (pictured here together on the show last month) 

ITV said in the interim, Holly will continue to present the show with ‘members of the This Morning family’.

Despite sharing the couch for 13 years, Phil’s statement announcing his exit from the show made no mention of his former ‘bestie’ Holly.

Meanwhile Holly’s statement, which thanks her former co-presenter for his ‘knowledge, experience and humour’, has been widely analysed.

Posted to Instagram, it featured a pink heart emoji, which sources who know Holly told the Daily Mail is meant to signify ‘girl power’ – potentially taking on a new meaning as Phil was evicted from the show.

Phillip Schofield’s exit statement in full

‘I have always been proud to cover fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story.

‘Throughout my career in TV – including the very difficult last few days – I have always done my best to be honourable and kind. 

‘I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.

Phillip said: ‘I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future’

Holly shared her own statement which said: ‘I want to take this opportunity to thank fim for all his knowledge, his expereince and his hmour. The sofa won’t feel the same without him’

‘So I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future. 

‘I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me – especially This Morning’s amazing viewers – and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.’

Holly Willoughby’s statement in full

‘It’s been over 13 great years presenting This Morning with Phil and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour. The sofa won’t feel the same without him.’