It's sofa & out for Phil

PHILLIP Schofield was axed from This Morning after a tense showdown with bosses... in a trade-off which protects his other ITV roles.

- LAURA ARMSTRONG

The presenter, who has fronted the show for 18 years, had faced intense scrutiny since a bitter rift with co-host Holly Willoughby was made public.

And insiders last night revealed his fate was unanimously decided in meetings at ITV Daytime on Friday.

Bosses then set up a call with Phil’s management company YMU in order to break the news.

It’s understood Head of Daytime Emma Gormley and Head of Programmes Kevin Lygo then both spoke to 61-year-old Phil.

He agreed to walk away on the basis that conversations about his roles on other shows like Dancing on Ice remain active – and he was promised a new show to host solo.

Yesterday – after two weeks of on-screen awkwardness and ratings going into free fall – Phil announced in a statement on Instagram that he was stepping down in a bid to “protect the show that I love”.