The This Morning episode that sparked Holly and Phil’s fallout revealed

The row apparently left Holly ‘incandescent’

The feud between Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby started on one particular episode when the pair fell out, according to reports.

Last year, Schofield stepped down from his presenting duties on This Morning amid reports of growing tension between him and his co-host Willoughby.

After this, he resigned from ITV after he admitted to lying about an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague on the show.

It has been reported in the past that the fallout between Schofield and Willoughby stemmed from the fact he had not told her about his brother’s court case over child sex offences.

Now, the Sun reports that the feud between the two presenters started with a row over whether Willoughby should present This Morning on her own on International Women’s Day last year.

According to the publication, Willoughby wanted to do the March 8 show herself, and Schofield was told by the programme’s chief Martin Frizell to take the day off.

A source told the paper: “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.”

Schofield apparently claimed the idea was “demeaning to women”, but when Frizell suggested the presenter do a “wine item” on the show, he complained to ITV managing director of daytime Emma Gormley.

In the end, Willoughby presented the start of the show alone with female production staff, and Schofield joined later.

The whole thing reportedly left Willoughby “incandescent” with rage. However, Schofield apparently felt like he had been “thrown under the bus” and made to look like he was being difficult, according to a friend.

“It felt like an orchestrated coup, that perhaps Holly wanted to present the show on her own and didn’t need Phil anymore,” they said.

The presenters’ feud had been back in the spotlight following Schofield’s TV return on Channel 5 series Cast Away.