Loose Women’s Nadia Sawalha hits out at Phillip Schofield for branding Holly Willoughby a ‘witch’
LOOSE Women star Nadia Sawalha has backed Holly Willoughby after Phillip Schofield branded her a “witch” and blamed her for his This Morning demise.
Shamed Schofe, 62, walked away from ITV last year after admitting to lying about an affair with a much younger male colleague.
Earlier this month he made his first television appearance since the scandal, starring in Channel 5 three-parter Cast Away, which saw him marooned on a deserted island near Madagascar for nine nights.
During the programme, Phillip reflected on his time in the TV wilderness and the events that led to it.
We have since revealed how he messaged former best pal Holly Willoughby after his This Morning exit accusing her of “bringing him down” and has nicknamed her “the witch”.
He also branded her a “s**t”, along with This Morning editor Martin Frizell and Emma Gormley, ITV’s managing director of daytime.
Phillip’s former ITV stablemate Nadia Sawalha, 59, recently criticised his televised redemption effort, calling it “cringey”.
Now, in an exclusive interview with The Sun, Nadia said seeing Holly blamed for someone else’s mistakes makes her feel “very cross”.
She said: “I’m very happy to answer this, in that I get really, really cross with the world when women always, so often, are blamed.
“I mean, I don’t know Holly and I don’t know Phil, I’ve sort of nodded at them going down the corridor. But I think just she’s had a really tough time.
“And I really take umbrage with people saying that she’s the problem here. So I feel really strongly about that.
“Obviously, I don’t know the ins and outs, but I know enough times when you look at things that have happened in the public, it’s nearly always the woman that’s blamed. She’s had a horrendous year. So yeah, that made me cross.”
Holly herself shrugged off Phillip’s criticism, with pals claiming the TV star “couldn’t care less”.
The 43-year-old has yet to publicly respond to the comments but those close to the star told The Sun she’d never rise to Phil.
A pal added: “Holly isn’t batting an eyelid at this, it’s like she couldn’t care less.
“Phil is coming across as incredibly bitter.
“Holly knows who her friends are and they’re the people she pays attention to.”
CANCER CAMPAIGN
Meanwhile, Nadia has more pressing concerns, namely a campaign to get thousands of women with incurable cancer access to a drug that could extend their lives.
Enhertu – which is used to treat patients like them in 25 countries including Scotland – has been denied for use on the NHS by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) due to its cost.
It’s estimated to be around £10,000 per patient per year in the US where it is available to cancer patients.
Nadia’s close friend Hannah Gardner, 37, whom she calls her ‘daughter’, is currently on Enhertu as part of a clinical trial that sees her also having to take a more toxic drug as part of its conditions.
So far, the mum-of-one’s tumours have responded well to the life-extending medicine, but the delay in getting onto the trial allowed her stage 4 cancer to spread.
Nadia explained why the group, which has raised £45,000 towards its target at the time of writing, is having to self-fund lawyers to contest NICE‘s decision.
Speaking from her home, she says: “Big Pharma told us that NHS England have been offered it [Enhertu] at the lowest price of anyone else that’s taken Enhertu. And so that’s NICE then, who are in charge of approving.
“I was in the [Royal] Marsden many times with Hannah and them saying, ‘oh, well, it will come through. There’s always a bit of this back and forth and it will come through’.
“You know, it’s an amazing drug. Nothing’s had this reaction since Herceptin, which we know has saved hundreds of thousands of women’s lives.
“So everybody thought it was a dead cert, but what happened is there’s something called a severity modifier; if you imagine, secondary breast cancer was in the column of a severe disease and there was a certain pot of money for that, but they moved it across the column to moderately severe. Now there is no cure for secondary breast cancer.
“So for those women to be told that their disease wasn’t severe and was only moderate and that that pot of money that was over there is now no longer available to buy this drug was just devastating.”
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Five most explosive ITV bombshells from Phillip Schofield’s Cast Away as TV insiders hit back
By Mary Gallagher
PHILLIP Schofield has finally returned to the screen after a stormy year and the TV world is buzzing.
The former This Morning legend spent ten days alone on an island where he filmed himself talking to camera for the Channel 5 show, Cast Away.
His wife Steph, and daughters Ruby and Mollie sent him off with an emotional final dinner, before he revealed shocking details about his This Morning departure, his personal life, and his fallout with ITV.
However, some ITV insiders have accused him of lying on the show – after he blamed his brother’s arrest for being sacked from This Morning.
Here are the biggest revelations from the interview:
Drowning in guilt
Schofield admitted that he was overwhelmed with guilt following his public exit from This Morning.
He confessed that the controversy surrounding his affair with a younger colleague consumed him emotionally.
“I was drowning,” Schofield revealed, noting that the backlash was far worse than he had anticipated.
ITV fallout: No contact after he left
The presenter didn’t hold back when discussing his fallout with ITV.
Schofield revealed that he hasn’t had any contact with the channel since he was fired.
Schofield blamed his brother for being fired from his lucrative This Morning and Dancing on Ice gigs.
Despite years as one of ITV’s most high-profile stars, the relationship turned frosty after his scandal made headlines.
He said: “Man alive, people can be fake. They can be so fake.
“With you when it’s all going well and suddenly utter, utter betrayal.
“When the tidal wave washed through and it washed everybody away, the ones that were still standing, they’re the ones that matter.
“And I thought, how many friends do you need?
“I don’t need 200 fake friends. I’ve got 10, 15, friends I would die for, and they would die for me.”
His affair wasn’t illegal
The TV veteran addressed the ongoing talk about his affair, clarifying that, while morally wrong, it wasn’t illegal.
He said the relationship happened between “two consenting adults” and denied any improper conduct while the younger colleague worked on This Morning.
Holly Willoughby silence
Surprisingly, Schofield admitted that his friendship with Holly Willoughby has been effectively over since the scandal broke.
Once daytime TV’s golden duo, Schofield confessed they no longer talk, with Holly keeping her distance ever since the affair hit the headlines.
Toxic work culture? Schofield says “No”
Amid reports of a “toxic” work culture at This Morning, Schofield pushed back against the allegations.
He praised the crew and behind-the-scenes staff, calling it a “wonderful place” to work.
The former host seemed baffled by claims of toxicity, despite his own highly public exit.
Struggling with mental health
Schofield also revealed the emotional toll the past year has taken on his mental health. He admitted to having dark thoughts, sharing, “I didn’t see a way forward.”
He thanked his family and close friends, who have been a lifeline throughout the ordeal.