HOLLY Willoughby was incandescent with rage when Phillip Schofield refused to let her present This Morning alone on International Women’s Day, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
The clash was reportedly the start of the presenting duo’s bitter fallout before he quit the show last year.
But Phillip’s pals claim he felt he was “thrown under the bus” by being made to look as though he was causing trouble.
A friend explained: “Phil said Holly was ‘incandescent’ about the whole thing. The next thing the ITV press team had a call from the press suggesting that Phil had been difficult.
“It felt like an orchestrated coup, that perhaps Holly wanted to present the show on her own and didn’t need Phil anymore.”
The row began with a terse exchange with the ITV flagship programme’s chief Martin Frizell.
A pal said: “Phil got a text from Martin asking him to take the day off because Holly wanted to do the show herself.
“Martin told Phil something along the lines of the show wanting to give women in the UK a day off from everything — no washing, no chores.
“He wanted them to celebrate being women. Phil said what Martin was suggesting wasn’t what the day was about.
“For Phillip, who has two beloved daughters, it felt patronising and hugely demeaning.
“He told Martin it felt like 1950s misogyny and was demeaning to women and urged him to do something better.
“Martin then suggested he present a wine item, which left Phil going above his head and complaining to Emma Gormley, managing director of daytime.”
In the end, Holly, 43, presented the start of the show in March last year alone with female production staff, and Phillip, 62, joined her later.
The fresh claims come just days after The Sun revealed how Phillip branded Holly “the witch” and accused her directly of “bringing me down”.
