This Morning star pays rare heartfelt tribute to Phil Schofield and the ‘twinkle in his eye’ after he’s axed from show
THIS Morning star Clodagh McKenna today paid a rare heartfelt tribute to Phillip Schofield after he was axed from show.
Irish chef, 48, took to Instagram to share her sadness at Phil no longer being part of the team, and praised the "twinkle in his eye’".
It comes after Phil was sensationally axed as co-host of This Morning, and will no longer present the show with Holly Willoughby.
One of the show's chef's Clodagh today revealed how much she would miss the axed presenter, with a touching Instagram post.
Alongside a picture of herself with Phil, she wrote: "21 years of brightening up our mornings.
"And I’ve been so lucky to be part of 3 of them. I’ll miss the morning hug, the twinkle in your eye that makes me giggle and your empathy.
READ MORE ON THIS MORNING
"You will be missed ♥️ @schofe."
Today the show returned with This Morning's Friday hosts, Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary.
Mainstay Holly is currently on holiday for two weeks and will return on June 5.
While overnight, we revealed Phillip is “completely broken” by his sacking from This Morning.
Most read in News TV
He will get six months’ wages to soften the blow after ITV decided his feud with Holly was losing too many viewers.
A source said: “Phil has been given his This Morning wages for six months — but if that was meant to make him feel better, it’s just not working.
“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.
“This Morning was Phil’s life and now he feels he has been knifed without proper consultation.
“Phil consulted his mum Pat and his ex-wife Stephanie before agreeing to step back.
“He is incredibly close to them both and wanted to gauge their thoughts.
“Phil also spoke with his daughters, Molly — who is a talent agent at his management company YMU — and Ruby.
“It was only after they’d had these discussions that Phil said he would agree to leave.
“Phil has dedicated over 20 years to that show and for it all to end this way has been incredibly upsetting for him.”
The Sun revealed Phil was told he had lost his job on This Morning just minutes after coming off air on Thursday.
Top brass at ITV decided the situation between him and co-host Holly had become unworkable, with the obvious tension between the pair costing the show almost 200,000 viewers.
Holly, who has worked on This Morning with Phil for 13 years, will stay on as the main presenter and is returning to the show on June 5 after a two-week break.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
After the news of his departure was made public by ITV, Phil issued an emotional statement.
However, his failed to mention Holly, confirming The Sun’s original story about the breakdown of their on-screen partnership, which has run for 17 years, including a stint on Dancing on Ice.
