Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were once the untouchable king and queen of daytime TV.

But their friendship was left in tatters after Phil, 62, quit the daytime ITV show last May, after admitting to lying about an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair’ with a younger colleague.

But when a violent plot to rape, kidnap and murder Holly was foiled by police, Phil was reportedly one of the first to reach out. Security guard Gavin Plumb, 37, wept after he was found guilty at Chelmsford Crown Court today. He will be sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday July 12.

It is said that Holly and Phil’s relationship first began to fracture when they were accused of queue-jumping as the late Queen lay in state. As rumours of a feud flew amid talk that Holly wanted to front This Morning alone, Phil stepped aside, But matters escalate when Phil came clean about his affair andf Holly, 43, released a statement saying she was “hurt” over Phil’s “lies”.

A court artist sketch of Gavin Plumb ( 
Image:
PA Wire)

In a bombshell interview with the BBC, Phil spoke about his last text to Holly before ties were severed. “The last time we had a conversation was when I texted Holly and said, ‘Don’t reply’ – this was after the statement last week – ‘Don’t reply, you’re probably not allowed to, but I am deeply deeply sorry that I lied to you. And I am.” He also told The Sun that the affair “was the one secret in our sanctuary that was never mentioned”, adding that he had “lost my best friend”.

Addressing rumours that the mum-of-three knew about the affair, Schofield said: “Holly did not know. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’. She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply, as well. So yeah. If anyone is in any way linking Holly to this; that is ­absolutely, wholly untrue.”

The disgraced star also used it as a chance to clear the air about the hearsay of a row between them, which came amid his brother Timothy being jailed for 12 years after being convicted of sexually abusing a vulnerable teenage boy over a three-year period. Phil added: “I had no feud with Holly. She is my TV sister.

The pair were once thick as thieves ( 
Image:
Pixel8000)
“But quite rightly, when I am in the middle of a s*** show with bad press over something where I have done nothing wrong – in fact, I did everything right – it’s a witch hunt. And that strips that away. Quite rightly, she is going to take a step back and think, ‘I have to step back from this’, and I understand that completely.”

Following a very difficult few months, Holly also decided to quit This Morning in October 2023, making the following statement: “To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so, so much. This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we’ve done together.”

Gavin Plumb was today found guilty and will be sentenced at a later date
Holly’s announcement, made after police foiled the plot to kidnap and murder the star, apparently left ITV crew members breathing a ‘sigh of relief’. A source told The Sun: “It felt like finally, they can get some normality back at work, having spent the last 12 months with morale at its lowest in years. The staff all still believe in This Morning and are rooting for its success.”

Despite Holly leaving her coveted role for the sake of her family, it was reported that she struggled to overcome her heartache over how things were handled with Phil’s departure from ITV five months earlier. After being side-by-side on-screen for 14 years, they had developed a personal connection away from the cameras, holidaying together with their families, while Holly was there for Phil when he came out as gay in 2020.

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This image released by the CPS show items purchased by Gavin Plumb for his kidnap plotDON’T MISS 

The Daily Mail reported a source said “she never got over it” and she “misses” her co-host. They added: “You wonder if she regrets the fallout – look at everything that has happened as a result. It’s really sad.”

And after Holly became the target of a kidnap and murder plot, it was revealed the pair had tried to patch up their fractured relationship. It was revealed that Phil allegedly contacted Holly after being “horrified” by the news, with Holly said to have been “really happy” to have heard from him.

“Phil’s decision to reach out, and the welcome it has been received with by Holly, shows that there is still a bond there,” a source told the Mirror. The source added: “The hope is they can regain some of the ground lost, and support each other again.”