ITV daytime stalwart Phillip Schofield has stepped down as presenter of This Morning after days of intense hypothesis over his relationship with co-host Holly Willoughby.

In a press release launched on Saturday, the 61-year-old said he understood ITV had decided "the current situation cannot go on".

Willoughby herself launched a brief assertion, in which she said the sofa would not be the same without him.

The menace of a This Morning departure has felt imminent since rumours began swirling of a rift between the celebs.

The pair was once agency buddies, with their households even taking annual holidays collectively.

Sky News takes a take a look at how their working relationship began and the place the cracks began to point out.

The current alleged rift

17 April 2023: The first present after the Easter break ought to have seen each hosts again on the sofa after Schofield took depart whereas his brother was on trial for little one sexual offences.

But whereas Schofield thanked followers for his or her help as he returned to This Morning for the primary time since his paedophile brother was convicted, Willoughby was absent.

She introduced she can be away from the show for every week as she was unwell with shingles.

Following his brother's conviction, Schofield branded the crimes "despicable" and stated: "As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother."

10 May: The Sun reported Schofield and Willoughby have been "barely speaking". The newspaper cited "insiders" who claimed their relationship had "cooled" and points had "rumbled for some time".

12 May: Amid swirling rumours in regards to the pair's cooling relationship, Schofield hailed Willoughby as his "rock" whereas admitting "the last few weeks haven't been easy for either of us".

In a press release, Schofield told the paper: "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 all the time been there for me, by thick and skinny. And I've been there for her."

15 May: As rumours continued, the two were seen together on This Morning last week.

Viewers were concerned about the two as they continued to discuss headlines but did not address the ongoing "feud."

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The co-hosts' past relationship

2006: The pair first work together on ITV's Dancing On Ice.

2009: Willoughby joins ITV's This Morning, replacing Fern Britton. In his memoir, Schofield pinpointed a row between the co-hosts over the content of a show as the catalyst for Britton's departure.

2011: Willoughby leaves Dancing On Ice and starts presenting The Voice, then on BBC1.

2017: Willoughby reportedly negotiates a pay rise to match Schofield's salary of £600,000. She was reportedly on around £400,000 before that.

2018: Willoughby returns to Dancing On Ice.

2020: Schofield comes out as gay after 27 years of marriage.

Willoughby interviews him about it on This Morning, telling him: "I will be by your side forever."

She additionally posts {a photograph} of the 2 of them on Instagram, and writes: "Never been more proud of my friend than I am today."

2022: The pair face accusations of queue jumping at the late Queen's lying in state. More than 37,000 folks signed a petition for them to be axed from This Morning.

Addressing the backlash, the hosts insist they have been solely there in a journalistic capability and adopted the foundations set for media.