Holly Willoughby snubs Phillip Schofield as she gushes over new This Morning co-host and rival wine brand – after scandal-plagued star’s own bottles were axed from shops
Holly Willoughby seemingly snubbed her former This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield in a string of social media posts on Tuesday.
The presenter, 42, took to her Instagram Stories following her appearance on the ITV show as she cuddled up for a beaming selfie with temporary co-host Dermot O’Leary.
Phillip, 61, resigned from the channel and was dropped by his agency YMU after admitting to an ‘unwise, but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague.
Sharing the snap from the This Morning set, Holly and Dermot smiled for the camera with Holly tagging her pal along with a orange heart emoji.
She later revealed she was enjoying a glass of TV chef James Martin’s wine in the garden, after scandal-plagued Phil’s own range was axed from shops.
Snubbed: Holly Willoughby seemingly snubbed her former This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield as she posed for a sweet selfie with temporary co-host Dermot O’Leary
Axed: She later revealed she was enjoying a glass of TV chef James Martin’s wine in the garden, after scandal-plagued Phil’s own range was axed from shops
Holly wrote: ‘Testing this out for our rosé demo tomorrow. Purely for research purposes. Thanks James Martin, it’s delicious.’
Schofield’s eponymous wine brand was pulled from sale within hours of the company he linked up with being asked about the issue.
When In Rome Wine said their association with the presenter had come to a ‘natural end’.
However, they were still selling the wine through their website after the scandal broke, and it was only after they received media questions that Schofield’s wines disappeared.
When In Rome Wine issued a statement to the media which read: ‘We have worked with Phillip Schofield on his range of Italian craft wines for three years and this collaboration has drawn to a natural conclusion. There are no further plans to continue filling the Schofield range for future orders.’
One industry insider told MailOnline that the timing of the ‘natural’ end of the relationship has raised eyebrows in the wine merchant business.
They said: ‘It’s bizarre that it would be on sale in recent weeks, and in fact right up until the day before the press inquiry, and now seems to have come to a natural conclusion.
‘But there’s no doubt it would have happened sooner or later as Schofield as a brand is now toxic. To use an industry term, it’s corked.’
New drink? Holly wrote: ‘Testing this out for our rose demo tomorrow. Purely for research purposes. Thanks James Martin, it’s delicious’
Axed: Schofield’s eponymous wine brand was pulled from sale within hours of the company he linked up with being asked about the issue
Sorry: When in Rome’s website now says ‘there are no products in this collection’ when you search Schofield’s name
When in Rome joined forces with the former This Morning presenter in 2020 to launch two new boxed wines, sold through their website as well as shopping giants Waitrose and Amazon.
When in Rome chief executive and co-founder, Rob Malin, proudly said at the time: ‘Having someone like Phillip on board to support the box wine category, demonstrates the size of the opportunity we have in the market to educate consumers that there is another way to enjoy high quality wine that doesn’t have to be bought in a bottle.’
The scandal also saw him dropped from numerous big money deals and The Prince’s Trust, a charity set up by King Charles back in 1976 to help support disadvantage people under 30, also removed Phillip as an ambassador as it was ‘no longer appropriate to work together’.
The King’s charity, which has a number of celebrity partners including Fearne Cotton, Idris Elba and Gareth Southgate, has also taken steps to distance itself from Schofield.
Admission: Phillip, 61, resigned from ITV and was dropped by his agency YMU after admitting to an ‘unwise, but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague
References to the Prince’s Trust have been cut from Schofield’s own website. It previously said Schofield (pictured with Fearne Cotton at one of the charity’s events in 2019) dedicates his ‘time to further the work of supporting vulnerable young people in the UK’
References to the Prince’s Trust have since been cut from Schofield’s own website.
It previously read: ‘Outside of work, Phillip is an Ambassador for the charity The Prince’s Trust, dedicating time to further the work of supporting vulnerable young people in the UK.’
The page which details information ‘about’ the presenter is currently unavailable due to a website ‘error’.
Yesterday there were still photographs of Schofield laughing with the Monarch alongside Ms Cotton at a previous event, the Mirror reported.
A Prince’s Trust spokesperson, however, confirmed last night that Schofield would no longer work with the charity.
They said: ‘In light of Phillip’s recent admissions, we have agreed with him that it is no longer appropriate to work together.’
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