Holly Willoughby appears to take thinly veiled swipe at Phillip Schofield with cryptic 'witch' post
Holly Willoughby took to her Instagram Stories today (Thursday, October 31) to wish her millions of followers a 'Happy Halloween' with a cryptic post. The mother-of-three shared a photograph of supermodel Kate Moss strutting down the runway dressed up as a witch.
The Lana Del Rey hit Season of the Witch was Holly's song of choice to accompany the post, which could be a cheeky swipe at her former This Morning co-star Phillip Schofield, 62, who reportedly branded her a "witch" earlier this year. In another Instagram Story, Holly shared a clip from the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air of Carlton dancing in excitement next to a Christmas tree to explain she was looking forward to the festive season.
According to The Mirror, Phillip called Holly, 42, a "witch" after she seemingly refused to help him keep his job on the ITV sofa last year following his "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague.
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A source told The Sun: "He dislikes Holly so much now he calls her 'the witch' when talking about her and sends the emoji to his mates if she comes up. He messaged Holly and told her: 'You brought me down.' He was furious and still is."
“Holly isn't batting an eyelid at this; it's like she couldn't care less," they added. "Phil is coming across as incredibly bitter. Holly knows who her friends are, and they're the people to whom she pays attention.”
According to reports, Phillip expressed his frustration to Holly through WhatsApp before the news of his departure from This Morning hit the headlines.
A source told The Mirror: "As well as saying she had brought him down, he said he couldn't believe his TV sister would do this to him."
He reportedly felt let down by Holly's lack of public support following rumours of a row after his brother's court case in May 2023.
Phillip's brother, Timothy Schofield, was jailed for 12 years for 11 sexual offences with a child from October 2016 to October 2019.
Holly's representatives remained tight-lipped on suggestions that she refused to show Phillip support.
OK! has contacted Phillip and Holly's representatives for comments.
Phillip made his first television comeback since leaving This Morning after 20 years on Channel 5 this September.
During the show where Phillip was dropped off on a remote island, he shared how the ITV studio he worked at "became hostile", and he seemed to subtly criticise his colleagues.
He said: "And the people who did it to me, know, they know how important that building was to me. They know that when you throw someone under a bus, you've got to have a really bloody good reason to do it. Brand, ambition is not good enough. It's not a good enough reason to throw someone under a bus."
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