Eamonn Holmes: Holly Willoughby 'stabbed Phillip Schofield in the back'

Watch: Eamonn Holmes responds to Phillip Schofield's exit from This Morning

Eamonn Holmes has accused Holly Willoughby of stabbing Phillip Schofield in the back over his This Morning resignation and branded her "false".

Willoughby, 42, released a statement saying, "The sofa won't be the same without him," after her 61-year-old co-host announced he was stepping down from the ITV daytime show after 21 years.

Holmes, 63, said on his GB News show: "Holly is being as false as he is and nobody is talking about the elephant in the room.

Read more: Phillip Schofield leaves This Morning: The timeline of events

"She says 'I thank him for all his knowledge, experience and humour'.

"All the things that she didn’t have when she came to the show. Well it’s true! I would call that stabbing in the back."

He added: "I could give you a list of the lack of kindness and lack of awareness from both of them. How they would socialise, and the people around them. You just have to look at my phone, full of people who are glad to see the back of the two of them."

Holmes said of Scofield's 'stepping down': "Oh please just stop this. He was sacked. All this nonsense of 'I've decided to step down'. I’m sure you did — 'here’s your P45 now step down'.

"And she says: 'Oh, the couch will not be the same without him being there'. Well she wanted him not there. So what is she moaning about. They deserve each other I suppose."

Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary will host This Morning in the wake of Schofield's resignation, ITV has announced, with Willoughby taking a break a week early for the school half-term holidays.

Holmes guest hosted the ITV daytime show on and off since 2006 with his wife Ruth Langsford, only to be axed after 15 years in 2021. He has since accused ITV of being "sly" in its handling of his departure from the show.

There have been reports of a behind-the-scenes feud between Willoughby and Schofield ever since 2022's Queuegate controversy.

The presenters came under fired over accusations they "jumped the queue" at the late Queen's lying in state at London's Westminster Hall in September.

Willoughby has yet to address all the speculation about the state of the pair's relationship.

But Schofield spoke out, insisting that Willoughby is his "rock" and that they are still close.

He told The Sun in a statement: "As I have said before, Holly is my rock. We're the best of friends - as always, she is an incredible support on screen, behind the scenes and on the phone."

Schofield said that Willoughby, who was recently ill with shingles, had always been there for him "through thick and thin".

Read more: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: Their on-screen history together

"And I've been there for her," said the star, who recently took some leave around his younger brother's Timothy's sex abuse trial.

Watch: Phillip Schofield announced he was stepping down from This Morning 'with immediate effect'