PHILLIP Schofield was supported by Holly Willoughby following his brother Timothy’s arrest for child sex offences.
But pals said Phil was upset when she publicly distanced herself from him when Timothy went on trial last May.
It came in the midst of baseless claims that Holly was kept in the dark over Phil’s brother’s court case and news of the arrest left her blindsided.
Phil now believes that Holly – who was once his closest friend – started to put a wall up between them because she knew it could look bad “for her brand”.
At the time, insiders told The Sun how the strain of Phil’s brother Timothy’s arrest for child sex offences had “added to the rift between them”.
Holly has never publicly spoken about Timothy’s crimes but in messages seen by The Sun in December 2021 after his arrest, Holly spoke with Phil about him.
After learning Timothy was being taken in by a friend after he was bailed, Holly messaged Phil and asked if the friend giving him a place to stay “knew what he had done?”
Holly also wrote to Phil about her shock and said it was “hard to believe”.
A friend said: “Phil feels that he was sacked because of the bad press around his brother. Everyone knew about Tim – including Holly.
“They had a backstage make-up room called ‘The Sanctuary’ at This Morning, where Phil first assembled trusted pals including Holly and told them, tearfully, about his brother. Holly held his hand and was super kind.
“But Phil feels she distanced herself from it publicly because it was bad for her brand. But she supported Phil and was disgusted by what his brother had done.”
The rift between them spiralled – with Phil later admitting he had lied to Holly about his affair with a colleague.
Pals said Holly cut Phil off dead, adding: “He feels so betrayed by Holly still.
“Phil acknowledges that he lied to Holly about the affair but he apologised profusely.
“She dropped him like a stone, despite everything they had been through.
“He’ll never get over what he feels is a betrayal.”
Timothy was jailed for 12 years in May last year.
Holly’s team did not comment when approached by The Sun.
