EXCLUSIVE Inside TVs most vicious feud: Exactly why Eamonn Holmes and Phillip Schofield loathe each other, the row over Ruth that started it and why TV staff 'would avoid Schofield in the corridor', reveals KATIE HIND By Katie Hind For The Daily Mail Published: 21:15 EDT, 1 October 2024 | Updated: 21:23 EDT, 1 October 2024 e-mail View comments When Eamonn Holmes and his estranged wife Ruth Langsford didn't turn up at This Morning's Christmas lunch in 2019, it sent a clear message to their colleagues about the state of their ongoing feud with Phillip Schofield . As 23 of the show's staff – including the now-disgraced star of the show Schofield – gathered in a private room at members' club White City House to enjoy a no-expense-spared, boozy afternoon, Ruth and Eamonn were nowhere to be seen. As the hosts of This Morning on Fridays who also covered episodes during the school holidays, their absence was keenly felt.
But I am now told it was because Holmes couldn't stand to be in the same room as Schofield. At the time, rumours had been circulating around the show's West London HQ about the animosity between the two broadcasters, who had known one another for three decades as their TV careers ran in tandem. While Holmes hosted GMTV, Schofield presented This Morning before Holmes joined him on the daytime show in 2006.
But in a bid to keep the peace on the much-loved ITV daytime programme, Holmes and Schofield had tried to keep their mutual resentment to themselves. W.