Phillip Schofield has admitted the last few weeks "haven't been easy" for him and Holly Willoughby - but insisted she is his "rock".
Phillip Schofield says recent weeks 'haven't been easy' for him and his 'rock' Holly Willoughby
The 'This Morning' presenter has said he and his co-host of 14 years are "the best of friends" and he has praised her "incredible support", but Phillip admitted the pair have found it tough of late.
He told The Sun newspaper: "As I have said before, Holly is my rock.
"We’re the best of friends - as always, she is an incredible support on screen, behind the scenes and on the phone.
"Holly has always been there for me, through thick and thin. And I’ve been there for her.
"The last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us."
Phillip's comments come after he took three weeks off the show in March when his brother Timothy Schofield was on trial for child sex offences.
Timothy stood trial accused of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, and he was found guilty on all counts in April.
Phillip admitted the support of Holly, who was recently struck down with shingles, "meant the world" to him throughout the ordeal.
He added: "My family went through a real ordeal.
"And Holly’s support throughout meant the world to me, as did the support of my bosses at ITV, my editor Martin Frizell and the whole This Morning family, including our amazing viewers.
"And of course, Holly has herself been ill with shingles."
After Timothy was found guilty, Phillip said in a statement released by his lawyer: "My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.
"If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.
"These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother."
Following the guilty verdict, Phillip and Holly were then on their usual Easter break from 'This Morning', and he returned the host the show alongside Rochelle Humes - because Holly was off with shingles - on April 17th.
While he didn't directly address the scandal, he thanked viewers for their support.
He said on the show: "I'd just like to say, it is really lovely to be back.
"I have missed the show and everyone here and also to you. I wanted to say thank you for your kind messages and support which were really appreciated.
"Thank you very much indeed. On with the show... Shall we?"
Phillip and Holly were replaced by the likes of Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary as well as Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle during their time off.
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