Eamonn Holmes trades blows on social media with ‘delusional liar’ Phillip Schofield

Published

12 months ago

May 29, 2023

admin

Eamonn Holmes has described Phillip Schofield as “delusional” and said he has “picked the wrong person… if you’re looking for a fight”.

It comes hours after Schofield, 61, released a statement attacking his critics as “a handful of people with a grudge against me”.

Holmes, 63, who used to cover him on This Morning, called him a “liar” and said he is “reluctant to give the liar any more publicity”.

“But believe me Pip if u r looking for a fight , u have picked on the wrong person,” he wrote.

The feud emerged after Schofield quit the flagship ITV morning show on 20 May – six days before admitting an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger production assistant on the programme.

ITV has been forced to answer questions about how much they knew about the relationship and accusations of a “toxic” culture. Bosses have confirmed they investigated rumours in 2020 but both parties denied it.

Phillip Schofield and Eamonn Holmes statements in full

Just before 10am on Monday, Phillip Schofield posts a statement on his Instagram stories.

“Now I no longer work on @thismorning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.

“This morning IS the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity. You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like.

“But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know, it IS a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard working people.”

At 11.10am Eamonn Holmes tweets a response.

“Schofield has just put out a delusional statement. Like Holly he puts it on Insta Stories so if it goes wrong there is no record after 24 hrs.

“I’m reluctant to give the liar any more publicity but believe me Pip if u r looking for a fight , u have picked on the wrong person !”

‘We happen to be in the news at the moment’

Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, who have presented This Morning since Schofield stepped down, made brief reference to the controversy on Monday morning’s edition.

“We happen to be in the news at the moment, and of course we appreciate that,” O’Leary said ahead of their newspaper review. “But just from both of us and the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you.”

Hammond added: “We really do. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

Gyles Brandreth, who was reviewing the papers, also offered his support, saying: “This is a happy place to work. I enjoy coming here.”

‘Toxic culture’ goes ‘far beyond’ Schofield

It comes after former This Morning doctor Ranj Singh, released a statement about the “toxic culture” at the show, claiming the “issues” with it “go far beyond him [Schofield]”.

He said he “took my concerns directly to the top of ITV”, but nothing came of it.

“There are some good people in TV, but we need to be brave and stand up to those who aren’t. Even if it’s scary as hell, we have to do the right thing otherwise nothing will change,” he wrote.

ITV said it was “saddened” to hear Dr Ranj’s comments, but that his complaint was investigated and “no evidence of bullying or discrimination” was found.

Schofield’s former colleague, Eamonn Holmes, had previously said Schofield had “finally been caught out”.

“He’s not the only guilty party. 4 high members of ITV management knew what sort of man he was,” he said on Twitter.

Schofield originally said he was stepping down from This Morning because it had “become the story” following reports of a feud between him and co-host Holly Willoughby.

That came after his brother was recently jailed for 12 years over child sex offences.

Willoughby, 41, is due to return next Monday (5 June), having gone on an early half-term holiday on 22 May.

She has said that “when reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not”.

“It’s been very hurtful to now find out this was a lie,” an Instagram statement added.

Schofield has now completely resigned from ITV and been dropped by his agents.

His statement to the Daily Mail also admitted lying about the affair to his wife, to ITV, his agents and the media.

The controversy has raised doubts about both Willoughby’s and the show’s future, but ITV has denied reports it could be axed.

Entertainment

Dabney Coleman, actor who starred in Boardwalk Empire and 9 to 5, dies

Published

12 hours ago

May 18, 2024

admin

Dabney Coleman, actor who starred in Boardwalk Empire and 9 to 5, dies

Lily Tomlin, Morgan Fairchild and Ben Stiller have led tributes to “one-of-a-kind” actor Dabney Coleman following his death aged 92.

Coleman made his career playing comedic villains, mean-spirited bosses and villains in films including 9 to 5 and Tootsie, as well as playing Commodore Louis Kaestner in Boardwalk Empire.

Lily Tomlin, who starred alongside him in 9 To 5 with Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton, said: “We just loved him.”

In her post to X, the actress shared a photo of her character Violet Newstead dressed in a Snow White costume beside a tense-looking Coleman as her egotistical boss Franklin Hart Jr.

Morgan Fairchild, who starred in Falcon Crest and Friends, described Coleman as a “great one”.

“So very sorry to hear of the death of the wonderful #DabneyColeman”, she wrote on X alongside a black and white photo of them together.

“We went out for a bit in the ’80s and I adored him. This town has lost one of a kind!”

Coleman “took his last earthly breath peacefully and exquisitely” in his Santa Monica home on Thursday, his daughter said in a statement on Friday on behalf of the family.

“My father crafted his time here on Earth with a curious mind, a generous heart and a soul on fire with passion, desire and humour that tickled the funny bone of humanity”, she said.

“As he lived, he moved through this final act of his life with elegance, excellence and mastery.”

Ben Stiller, Zoolander and Meet The Parents actor, praised Coleman for paving the way for character actors.

“The great Dabney Coleman literally created, or defined, really – in a uniquely singular way – an archetype as a character actor.

“He was so good at what he did it’s hard to imagine movies and television of the last 40 years without him.”

Coleman starred in a number of films and TV series in the 1960s, then made his breakthrough as a corrupt mayor in the satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, in 1976.

His film credits include a computer scientist in WarGames, Tom Hanks’ father in You’ve Got Mail and a chief firefighter in The Towering Inferno.

He won a best actor Golden Globe for The Slap Maxwell Story and an Emmy for best supporting actor in Peter Levin’s 1987 legal drama Sworn To Silence.

Coleman also won two Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the cast of crime drama Boardwalk Empire and received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his starring role in the NBC sitcom Buffalo Bill.

Entertainment

Yvette Fielding says she was assaulted by Rolf Harris on Blue Peter and left alone with Jimmy Savile

Published

14 hours ago

May 18, 2024

admin

Yvette Fielding says she was assaulted by Rolf Harris on Blue Peter and left alone with Jimmy Savile

Blue Peter’s youngest ever presenter has claimed disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris sexually assaulted her when she was a teenage host of the children’s show.

Yvette Fielding, who joined the long-running BBC programme aged 18, told the Sun newspaper how the paedophile predator squeezed and patted her bottom after finding herself alone with him in a TV studio.

The now 55-year-old also recalled an uncomfortable experience with “grotesque” Jimmy Savile, who was later revealed to be one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.

Fielding has questioned the role of the BBC in allowing their behaviour, arguing people in the industry “must have known”.

She became a Blue Peter presenter in 1987 and left five years later, going on to host a string of BBC programmes including The Heaven And Earth Show, The General and City Hospital.

Recounting the incident with Harris, she said: “It was very confusing and shocking – just bizarre to think Rolf Harris was squeezing and patting my bottom and I am standing there, thinking ‘I don’t know what to do’.

“Other people in the industry must have known what he was like and you left me alone in the studio with him.

“That shouldn’t have happened. I must have been 18 or 19.

“I think a lot of them did know.”

Harris was a household favourite for decades before his dramatic downfall after being convicted of a string of indecent assaults against young girls.

Stripped of his honours, he died of neck cancer and old age in May last year, aged 93.

He was also known to be associated with Savile, who managed to conceal his crimes until after his death in 2011.

On her meeting with the late depraved DJ, Fielding told the Sun: “He took my hand and started stroking it. ‘Look into my eyes’, he said, ‘And tell me what you’re thinking’.”

“He was grotesque,” she added.

“I just don’t understand why the BBC allowed him to get away with that for as long as he did.”

Savile worked for much of his career at the BBC presenting programmes including Top Of The Pops and Jim’ll Fix It.

The BBC has been contacted for comment.

Entertainment

Girls Aloud kick off reunion tour dedicated to late bandmate Sarah Harding

Published

19 hours ago

May 18, 2024

admin

Girls Aloud kick off reunion tour dedicated to late bandmate Sarah Harding

Girls Aloud have taken to the stage for the first gig of their reunion tour with emotional tributes to their late bandmate Sarah Harding.

A 30-minute delay to the show blamed on “Dublin motorway closures”, did nothing to dim the delight of fans when Nadine Coyle, Cheryl, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh appeared on stage, standing on individual podiums singing their 2008 song Untouchable.

The comeback tour has been dedicated to Harding, who was diagnosed with cancer and died in September 2021 aged 39.

During the show, the group performed a duet with Harding, whose vocals to I’ll Stand By You played as they joined in live on-stage.

They later sang one of their biggest hits, The Promise, during which the singers stopped and turned their backs to the audience to watch footage of Harding performing the song on her own.

A post on the official Girls Aloud X account said: “Show 1 done. Dublin you were absolutely INCREDIBLE. What a start to the #TheGirlsAloudShow tour.”

The singers won Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and formed Girls Aloud, going on to achieve four UK number one singles and a Brit award.

They reunited with new music for their 10th anniversary in 2012, while a second reunion was planned for their 20th anniversary when Harding was diagnosed with cancer.

Less than an hour before their expected arrival at the 3Arena in Dublin, the group issued an updated stage time on X.
It said due to “Dublin motorway closures”, the band would arrive 30 minutes later than expected at 9.15pm.

Ahead of the show, a post on the official Girls Aloud X account said: “Rehearsals? Done. Choreography? Ready. Outfits? Fitted. Girls? Aloud.

“…We’ve been working so hard to make this show special for all of you.”

After two back-to-back opening nights in Dublin’s 3Arena, Girls Aloud will play two concerts at the SSE Arena in Belfast on Monday and Tuesday, before heading to the Manchester AO Arena from Thursday to Saturday.

In November, the group had to add six extra dates to their UK and Ireland 2024 arena tour due to “unprecedented demand” following ticket pre-sales.