Holly Willoughby has a butter-wouldn’t-melt grin – but behind it is a tough brand-protective cookie, says Piers Morgan
PIERS Morgan has described Holly Willoughby as a 'tough cookie' beneath her "butter-wouldn't-melt grin".
The TalkTV star paid tribute to his friend in a column for The Sun where he spoke of his sympathy for Phillip Schofield.
Phillip announced he was leaving his role on This Morning after 21 years on Saturday afternoon.
Piers, 58, spoke about his own experiences on leaving ITV's Good Morning Britain in 2002.
But he also opened up about Holly saying he admired her for being ambitious and keen to protect her own brand.
The Piers Morgan Uncensored host wrote: "Holly’s a friend of mine, but beneath the benign butter-wouldn’t-melt grin and touchy-feely motivational Instagram posts lurks a tough, ambitious, brand-protective cookie, which is one of the reasons why I like her.
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"I like Phillip Schofield too, despite a 25-year rift between us that developed after I wrote an unofficial 1992 biography about him entitled ‘To Dream a Dream – the Phillip Schofield Story’ and which only ended when he took me out for a long, drunken, and very entertaining lunch.
"Phillip’s not the evil monster he’s being painted as, nor is he the angel his previously halo-clad reputation suggested.
"I know a lot of people who loathe him for the way he’s treated them, including my good friends Amanda Holden and Eamonn Holmes.
"But I also know some of his colleagues, current and past, who speak highly of him and feel genuinely sad that his career is going up in smoke like this."
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Piers added: "One minute Schofield was undisputed king of morning TV and fast heading to bona fide national treasure status - the next he’s a dethroned, shamed, vilified, national disgrace and social media laughing stock."
Phillip and Holly presented their last episode of This Morning together on Thursday last week.
After the announcement that he would not return, she was given time off the show and will not return until after the school half term break.
The show has been presented by Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary and Craig Doyle, who are regular stand-ins for the main hosts.
Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored weekdays on Sky 522, Virgin Media 606, Freeview 237, Freesat 217 or on Fox Nation in the US
