Phillip Schofield's four-word statement to Holly Willoughby as bombshell WhatsApp text uncovered

Phillip Schofield was left raging at former friend and co-star Holly Willoughby after she didn't support him amid his ITV scandal, telling her: "You brought me down."

The star dramatically blasted Holly via WhatsApp the day before news of his This Morning axe became public, according to reports. He apparently blamed her for not publicly backing him amid reports they had fallen out in the aftermath of his brother's court case, in May 2023.

Phillip left the ITV daytime show after admitting to an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a younger colleague. Holly continued presenting the programme after the 62-year-old's exit, but just months later decided to step down from the role.

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On October 10, 2023, Holly shared a statement to Instagram to announce that she was leaving the show after 14 years. She said it had been an 'honour to just be part of its story', but said it was a call she had to make for herself and her family.

A pal has now said that Phillip was left raging at Holly's lack of support amid his downfall, with them telling the Mirror: "As well as saying she had brought him down, he said he couldn't believe his TV sister would do this to him."

He asked her for a public show of support such as a statement or picture of them together in the hope it would diffuse media claims of a fallout between the showbiz pair. But his plea was ignored.

The friend claimed this lack of support meant that his future on the sofa was doomed as viewers no longer believed in their on-screen chemistry. "He feels it was a simple gesture that might have saved his job and her refusal to do so effectively finished him off. Believing in the TV chemistry was the bedrock of the This Morning format," a pal said.

She reportedly told Phillip that she didn't want to "feed the narrative" and that ITV bosses didn't want her to publicly respond. After he sent her the WhatsApp, Holly is said to have replied that she was in the dark about what was going on, the pal said.

But Phillip was so upset that he later messaged two senior ITV bosses to complain about her, the friend says. A source said: "Phillip considered her a friend, his TV sister as he called her, and always backed her, even recommending her to do the jungle. Her lack of public support was a low blow in his eyes."

Phillip said in May 2023 how he had "agreed to step down " from the show after more than 20 years in order to "protect the show that I love." A friend said: "In reality he was forced out...and was absolutely devastated by what happened."

During all of this Phillip was fielding increasing questions about his relationship with a runner, and denying that anything had happened between them. Days after being forced off the show, he admitted lying about the affair which led to his resignation from ITV, blowing up his career.

He admitted at the time: "I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.... that relationship was unwise but not illegal. It is now over."

The pal said: "He blew things up himself but at the end of the day he promised the other person involved that he wouldn't say anything in order to keep his name out of the papers, which is what they wanted."

Phillip was also ditched by his agency of 35 years, YMU, on the same day he admitted to having an extra-marital affair. YMU said at the time how "honesty and integrity" were "core values", and that "talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust."

But the pal said the decision to dump him and his "support network of 35 years" was brutal. Phillip later refused to speak to an independent review into the affair, carried out by Jane Mulcahy KC, because of "the risk to his health".

Last week he appeared on Channel 5 show Cast Away to "set the record straight on a few things," the pal says. He told on air how the building "became hostile to me" and appeared to take a well-aimed dig at colleagues from This Morning.

"And the people who did it to me, know, they know how important that building was to me. They know that when you throw someone under a bus, you've got to have a really bloody good reason to do it. Brand, ambition is not good enough. It's not a good enough reason to throw someone under a bus," he said while marooned on a desert island.

The pal defended Phillip for now going on national TV and airing his grievances, saying he was well within his rights to do so. "So much Phillip needed to get off his chest on Cast Away appears to be justified and was not the 'poor me' it was accused of," the friend says.

"He couldn't have been more remorseful of his mistake and addressed that numerous times, but did he deserve that trip under the bus? He has been pleased by the reaction and just wants people to make their own minds up by watching all three episodes."