Eamonn Holmes has been accused of ‘snatching’ This Morning’s NTA gong out Phillip Schofield’s hand at the awards bash on Tuesday evening.
In video obtained by The Sun, Phillip, 57, who is said to be at the centre of a civil war behind-the-scenes at ITV, is clutching the statuette for the Live Magazine Show prize before Eamonn grapples with the gong in comedy fashion.
It comes amid claims Eamonn and his wife Ruth’s ‘strained’ relationship with Phillip was evident in the winner’s room, following what was considered to be an ‘awkward’ exchange during their acceptance speech.
Tense: Eamonn Holmes has been accused of ‘snatching’ This Morning’s NTA gong out Phillip Schofield’s hand at the awards bash on Tuesday evening
Ruth’s frosty relationship with Phil became the talk of Twitter on Tuesday, as the stars shared the stage after stars of This Morning scooped their award.
TV insiders said they felt Phil’s actions of putting on a united display were ‘disingenuous’ after they watched him turn his back on Ruth, 59, backstage in the winner’s room.
A source told the publication: ‘Phil’s relationship with Ruth and Eamonn is hugely strained and at ITV they give each other a wide berth…
‘So when Phil reached out to try and put Ruth in the spotlight when they collected the award, it felt humiliating and it was awkward for everyone around them. Ruth looked like she couldn’t wait to get away from Phil, there’s obviously no love lost.’
Feud? Last month, Phillip (pictured with co-host Holly Willoughby) was accused of creating a ‘toxic atmosphere’ for his This Morning co-stars
The insider added the TV duo’s body language echoed their alleged strained relationship, with Phil standing with his back to Ruth as they posed for photos.
MailOnline has contacted This Morning, Phil and Ruth’s representatives for comment.
It comes after viewers couldn’t help but point out the ‘frosty’ and ‘awkward’ interaction between the TV personalities when they took to the stage to accept their award.
Doing his best to quash reports of a feud Phillip gestured for Ruth to make a speech after his, as he thanked her and Eamonn for doing a ‘great job’ hosting the show every Friday.
Happy family? TV insiders said they felt Phil’s actions of putting on a united display were ‘disingenuous’ after they watched him turn his back on Ruth, 59, backstage
It comes after Ruth and Phillip shared their first onscreen conversation last week following reports that Ruth filed a formal complaint with ITV bosses in December about Phil.
Ruth appeared via video link from the Loose Women studio to update viewers on what was coming up on her show, which airs after Phil’s slot on This Morning.
While the new ITV daytime schedule usually sees the Loose Women cast go to the This Morning studio in person to chat with Phil and his co-presenter Holly, Ruth remained in the separate studio for the segment.
Rivals: A source said: ‘Ruth looked like she couldn’t wait to get away from Phil, there’s obviously no love lost’
Speaking to the camera, Ruth said: ‘Hello, it’s just me, it’s just me on my own,’ prompting an ‘Oh no’ from Phil.
The ITV favourite then continued to tell viewers about the upcoming instalment of Loose Women before handing back to Phil and Holly.
Last month, Phillip was accused of creating a ‘toxic atmosphere’ for his This Morning co-stars, with allegations of ongoing spats with Holly and stand-in hosts Ruth and her husband Eamonn.
It is claimed eight different ITV presenters have broken their silence regarding Phillip’s attitude, while Ruth is thought to have made a formal complaint to ITV’s new head of daytime TV Emma Gormley.
Fall-out: It is claimed eight different ITV presenters have broken their silence regarding Phillip’s attitude, while Ruth is thought to have made a formal complaint
It followed an incident in April which saw Phillip interrupt Ruth while she was presenting a preview of Loose Women during This Morning.
A report stated the situation behind the scenes at This Morning had become ‘toxic’ in recent months, with employees too scared to speak out publicly for fear of backlash.
An ITV source told The Sun: ‘For so long people have been silenced because they are scared for their job. If they speak out publicly about the atmosphere they fear there could be repercussions.’
Painfully awkward: It comes after viewers couldn’t help but point out the ‘frosty’ and ‘awkward’ interaction between the TV personalities when they took to the stage to accept their award
The Mail On Sunday revealed relations between Phillip, Ruth and Eamonn are said to be so bad that the couple snubbed the show’s Christmas party to avoid him.
The Friday presenters were surprisingly absent from the no-expense-spared dinner at a West London restaurant where 23 of their colleagues enjoyed a four-course meal and champagne.
Hitting back at the reports, a spokesperson for ITV said: ‘It’s deeply disappointing and unfair for Phillip to be the target of this sort of malicious gossip.
‘Phillip is a much respected broadcaster and colleague and this is absolutely not a description of This Morning that we recognise.
‘Holly and Phil are great friends both on and off screen and are popular among viewers and colleagues alike.’
Distance: While Holly held the trophy for best Live Magazine Show, Ruth and Phillip were seen keeping a distance from each other while they celebrated the show’s win