Fiona Phillips has hit back at claims she and Eamonn Holmes ‘couldn’t stand each other’ during their days on GMTV.
The journalist, 59, who is married to ITV boss Martin Frizell, presented the breakfast show with co-host Eamonn, 60, between 1997 and 2005.
Fiona took to Twitter on Monday to declare the rumours ‘utter b*****ks’ and was cheered on by Eamonn, who responded: ‘That’s my Partner ….. u tell him !’ (sic)
It has been reported that This Morning editor Martin, 61, clashed with Eamonn and his wife Ruth Langsford, 60, in the run-up to the General Election, which allegedly led him to drop the couple from their Friday slot following months of tension.
‘That’s utter b*****ks!’ This Morning boss Martin Frizell’s wife Fiona Phillips has hit back at claims she and Eamonn Holmes ‘couldn’t stand each other’ on GMTV (pictured in 2018)
Fiona’s fiery retort came after a Twitter user branded she and Eamonn ‘one of the finest partnerships in TV’ – to which another user responded ‘I think they couldn’t stand each other’.
The TV personality brushed aside the drama between her husband and her former co-star as she wrote in favour of her relationship with Eamonn: ‘Utter b*****ks.
‘But I guess you must know best, being a total stranger whom we’ve never ever set eyes upon, let alone shared confidences with…..’. (sic)
In 2018, Fiona claimed she was paid less than her sidekick, despite being dubbed the ‘queen of breakfast TV’ in the late 90s.
The TV star said she was ‘a relative pauper’ compared with her ‘on-screen king Eamonn Holmes’ in her Daily Mirror column.
Back in the day: The presenter, 59, presented the breakfast show with co-host Eamonn, 60, between 1997 and 2005 (pictured in 2004)
They’re out! Reports claim the editor, 61, clashed with Eamonn and wife Ruth Langsford, 60, last year, before he dropped the couple from their Friday slot on This Morning
The mother-of-two, who anchored the programme for 12 years, also insisted her pregnancy was deemed a ‘nuisance’ and ‘an inconvenience’ by TV bosses.
Fiona explained at the time: ‘Monetarily I was well adrift of my on-screen partner who also had ‘perks’ that I clearly wasn’t deemed worthy of.
‘I even had to fight for maternity pay after being told by bosses when I broke it to them that I was pregnant that ”viewers don’t like seeing pregnant women on TV, especially early in the morning”.’
Despite the gender pay gap, the former Strictly Come Dancing star has always insisted she and Eamonn are amicable.
Response: TV personality Fiona was cheered on by the fellow broadcaster as he responded: ‘That’s my Partner ….. u tell him !’ (sic)
New reports however, have claimed her long-term partner Martin and Eamonn aren’t on good terms after he replaced the ITV star and his co-host Ruth with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
The TV executive had earlier this year told staff he was planning to hire a black presenter.
In a video conference call with staff in July, the programme’s editor shared: ‘There is not a black presenter on any of the programmes today.
‘We plan to change that, we [This Morning] are looking into it.’ This Morning has never had a main black presenter since it launched 32 years ago.
‘I was deemed a nuisance’: The mum-of-two previously said she was paid less than her sidekick, despite being dubbed the ‘queen of breakfast TV’ (pictured in the early 2000s)
An ITV source said at the time: ‘It’s a tough one for Martin. He appeared to really mean what he said so it will be difficult to simply give the presenter the once-a-week Friday slot because he would leave himself open to claims of tokenism.’
Another show insider added: ‘Kudos to Frizell for being the first ITV boss to pledge to make this happen. What we are all wondering now is, ‘Will anyone go and, if so, who?’ ‘
A bust-up over the proposed gift of a Christmas bauble to Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is said to have sowed the seed for the departure of the couple from the daytime hit.
According to The Mail on Sunday, Eamonn locked horns with Martin after Nicola contacted producers to say she wanted to present the lively duo with a traditional Scottish tree decoration during her interview.
Rumours: A bust-up over gifting a bauble to Nicola Sturgeon is said to have sowed the seed for the departure of the couple (pictured last December)
Martin reportedly agreed with an idea to give the politician a gift in return and the show’s art department was tasked with creating a This Morning-themed bauble in advance of the discussion – the last of a series with the main party leaders.
Eamonn is believed to have objected, claiming it broke strict impartiality rules for broadcasters in the weeks before an election, with his intervention – which took place shortly before Nicola’s arrival – enraging Martin.
‘Martin exploded, saying he was the editor and he decided what happened on the show,’ said a source of what became known to staff as ‘Bauble-gate’.
Christmas treat: The Scottish First Minister contacted producers to say she wanted to present the gift to the pair, with Eamonn reportedly objecting
‘He then refused to go to Eamonn’s dressing room for the pre-show meeting with the presenters.
‘The producer was having to run back and forth between the news room and the dressing room to convey Eamonn’s fury to Martin and Martin’s fury to Eamonn.’
The former Sky News Sunrise star eventually won the argument, but insiders believe it marked the ‘beginning of the end’ for him on the show.
The source sought to play down the row, stating: ‘What is one person’s argument might be another person’s debate.’
But an eyewitness said of the clash: ‘It was absolutely extraordinary and all over a couple of baubles. Things were never quite the same again.’
Eamonn and Ruth were axed last week from their presenting roles after 14 years on the series’ sofa.
In with the new: Ruth and Eamonn will be replaced by the show’s first black host, Alison Hammond, and Dermot O’Leary (pictured in the summer)
Despite being assured that they will be offered holiday cover shifts – and that they remain ‘part of the This Morning family’ – both are said to be ‘very sad’ about the decision.
Alison, 45, and Dermot, 47, have previously worked together on the show, presenting it as a duo whilst Ruth, Eamonn, Holly and Phil were away during the summer holidays.
Big Brother star Alison, who rose to fame on the third season of the reality series, is a staunch favourite of fans and has been a part of the show for many years as a roving reporter, and she made her presenting debut this summer.
The mother-of-one has hosted the show alongside Dermot and also with Rochelle Humes, and she has previously been hailed as a fantastic presenter by viewers.