Phillip Schofield: Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary pay tribute on This Morning

Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary opened Monday's episode of This Morning with a tribute to Phillip Schofield following his departure from the show.

The 61-year-old left the ITV programme following reports of a rift between himself and co-host Holly Willoughby.

Opening Monday's show, Hammond described Schofield as "one of the best live television broadcasters this country has ever had".

She added everyone on the show wished him "all the best for the future".

It has not yet been announced who will permanently replace Schofield. Hammond and O'Leary usually present the daytime show on Fridays but stepped in on Monday.

"We can't start today's show without paying tribute to the man who spent the last two decades sitting on the This Morning sofa, Phillip Schofield," Hammond said on Monday.

O'Leary continued: "So, as a show, everyone on and off screen at ITV and This Morning want to say a huge thank you to Phil for what he's done to make this show such a success over the last 21 years."

"Quite simply, we all know he's one of the best live television broadcasters this country has ever had," Hammond continued, "and we and all the team wish him all the best for the future".

O'Leary concluded: "So, Holly is now taking a break over half-term. She will be back in this studio in two weeks, on Monday 5 June."

However, on Thursday's programme, Willoughby said "see you Monday" to viewers - suggesting her absence this week was not planned and her half-term holiday has been brought forward.

Former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes, who was dropped in 2021, was less complimentary about Schofield on his GB News breakfast show on Monday.

During the newspaper review, when Holmes' co-host Isabel Webster said Schofield was "stepping down", Holmes replied: "Oh please just stop this. He was sacked. All this nonsense of 'I've decided to step down'. I'm sure you did - 'Here's your P45, now step down'."

He went on to quote Willoughby's statement about Schofield's departure, commenting: "And she says, 'Oh, the couch will not be the same without him being there'. Well she wanted him not there. So what is she moaning about? They deserve each other, I suppose."

Holmes described her statement as "stabbing in the back" and said his phone was "full of people who are glad to see the back of the two of them".

Meanwhile Piers Morgan, who left ITV's Good Morning Britain in 2021 following an on-air clash with the show's weather presenter, said he had "sympathy" with Schofield, who he believes was entitled to a "better send-off".

"Anyone who thinks that daytime telly is full of smiley, nicey, happy clappy people, I think they are beginning to realise it is infested by a pack of savages," Morgan told Times Radio.

"There is nothing more ruthless than the way that talent, as we [presenters] so laughably get called in television, get treated when the plug gets pulled.

"So I have some sympathy with Phillip Schofield, who actually I do think after 20-odd years on This Morning, winning awards every year, doing great... I think whatever has gone on behind the scenes, I think he was entitled to a better send-off."

Asked what Schofield might do next, Morgan replied that it "can be a very nice life after ITV".

ITV has said Schofield will still present the British Soap Awards and another forthcoming peak-time series following his exit from This Morning.

Alison Hammond rose to fame as a contestant on Big Brother in 2002 before forging a successful presenting career. As well as hosting This Morning on Fridays, she will take over from Matt Lucas on the next series of The Great British Bake Off.

She is the presumed frontrunner after viewers praised her recent partnership with Willoughby when Schofield took time off during his brother's child abuse trial. Bosses will have noticed she regularly helps the show go viral - thanks to moments such as her 2017 interview with Harrison Ford or her uncontrollable laughter as Barry Humphries pretended to mix up Schofield and O'Leary.

Hammond's Friday co-host Dermot O'Leary is himself a hugely experienced presenter, having for many years hosted what was the top show on British television - The X Factor. In addition to his weekly slot on This Morning, he presents a weekend show on BBC Radio 2.

More than a decade after he sobbed into Nicole Scherzinger's cushions as an X Factor contestant, Rylan Clark has become one of the UK's most prolific and popular TV presenters. He has been part of the This Morning family since 2013, starting off hosting its "Hub" segment before graduating to the sofa.

Josie Gibson also found fame as a Big Brother contestant, winning the series in 2010. In 2019, she joined This Morning as a competition announcer, and later became a regular presenter after once filling in for Willoughby at the last minute when she fell ill.

When covering the show during the holidays, Gibson usually presents alongside Vernon Kay. However, he's unlikely to be in the frame given that he's just started his new weekday Radio 2 show, which airs in a similar timeslot.

Schofield announced on Saturday that he had agreed to step down from the show “with immediate effect”.

In a statement, he said: "Throughout my career in TV - including in the very difficult last few days - I have always done my best to be honourable and kind.

"I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can't go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.

"So I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future."

In a statement on Instagram, Willoughby said: "It's been over 13 great years presenting This Morning with Phil, and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour."