Amanda Holden has spoken out on reports she is locked in a feud with This Morning star Holly Willoughby.
In a lengthy statement posted on her Instagram page, Amanda, 52, addressed reports that have claimed she and Holly, 42, have been pitted against each other for several jobs, and their rivalry has bubbled to the surface in the wake of Phillip Schofield’s affair scandal on This Morning.
‘Sadly strong and intelligent women have for far too long been pitted against one other when we should all be celebrated in our own right,’ Amanda wrote.
‘Women are still expected to say nothing, suffer silently and just get on with it. And we do… mostly.
Claims: Amanda Holden has spoken out on reports she is locked in a feud with This Morning star Holly Willoughby (pictured together in 2012)
Claims: In a lengthy statement posted on her Instagram page, Amanda addressed reports that have claimed she and Holly have been pitted against each other for several jobs (Holly is pictured returning to This Morning on Monday)
On Wednesday The Sun reported a source as saying that ‘Holly has questioned how Amanda’s allowed to have become so influential.’
Sources also said that Holly feels Amanda has too much sway in the industry, as was evident when she suggested to Simon Cowell that her friend Alan Carr could replace David Walliams as a judge on Britain’s Got Talent, before Bruno Tonioli got the job.
Amanda was embroiled in a feud with Holly’s co-star Phillip which began back in 2018, when she claimed he sabotaged her chance to fill for Holly as host of This Morning.
The Britain’s Got Talent star raised eyebrows this week when she appeared to mock Holly’s return to This Morning in an Instagram video mimicking her opening phrase: ‘Are you OK?’
Returning to the show for the first time since Schofield’s sacking following his affair with a younger male colleague, Holly, 42, asked viewers: ‘Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so.’
Amanda posted a video on Instagram wearing an angelic white ensemble from Me + Em which was similar to the Reiss one worn by Holly, saying: ‘Hello, it is Tuesday. Are you OK?’
And, just in case anyone missed the point, she had another pop at Holly on the radio.
When talking about doing the show hungover, the day before, co-host Jamie Theakston, 52, asked her how she was feeling.
She said: ‘I got home, got straight into bed with my dog and cat. I got up, cooked the tea and went back to bed again at 8.
‘I did that thing where you wake up at 2 and you have to talk yourself back into going to sleep.’
Claims: The Britain’s Got Talent star raised eyebrows when she appeared to mock Holly’s recent return to This Morning in an Instagram video
Jamie interjected: ‘We’re worried about your well-being,’ while talking to another guest.
Amanda replied: ‘I’m OK people, are you OK?’ before cackling loudly.
A spokesperson for Amanda told MailOnline: ‘Amanda has always made it clear in the past she has no issues with Holly. Today’s video has been taken out of context.’
Holly’s said in the original statement that it: ‘feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil and I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have.
‘Shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on and full of questions’.
‘All of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved. That is a lot to process’.
She added: ‘It’s equally hard to see the toll it’s taken on their own mental health. I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone.
‘I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that the show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.
Amanda previously said she believes that in 2018, Phillip sabotaged her chances of filling in on This Morning while Holly hosted I’m A Celeb.
Rochelle Humes landed the presenting job while Phillip’s regular co-host Holly took over Ant McPartlin’s hosting duties for I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here.
Spitting image: Holly and Amanda have long been known for their similar sense of style, and sources claim the pair have previously been pitted against one another for jobs
In a resurfaced video, Amanda was questioned about her feud with Phil by her Heart Radio co-star Jamie.
As he tried to approach the subject, Amanda told him: ‘I’ve moved on from it, Jamie, you need to move on from it.’
Pressing further, he quizzed: ‘You might have moved on but I just wanted to know, is there any more to the story?’
Amanda told Jamie she had tried to reach out to Phil, but her attempts to arrange a meet up to clear the air were ignored.
She said: ‘I did offer to meet him for a coffee months ago, he didn’t reply to my text. What can I say?’
‘The olive branch had been extended?’, Jamie asked.
According to The Sun, Amanda reportedly expressed she felt ‘let down’ by her friend Phillip when she found out she didn’t get the position and it went to Rochelle.
She had previously filled in for Holly when the This Morning star took a year off the show to have her third child, Chester, now seven, in October 2014.
A former daytime TV executive previously told The Sun: ‘Phillip actively campaigned for Rochelle to get the job despite Amanda being more experienced – and having been told privately she’d got the gig.’
An ITV spokesperson later insisted that Rochelle’s casting was a decision made by producers, telling MailOnline: ‘Presenter line ups on This Morning change regularly and final decisions on these line ups are made by producers and not the presenters.
They said at the time: ‘Phillip Schofield is a much loved broadcaster and part of the ITV family. He is a consummate professional and held in high regard at ITV. Amanda is also held in high regard as a judge on one of our biggest shows.’
Similar outfit: Holly opened her comeback monologue on This Morning on Monday by asking viewers if they were OK, and was accused of being melodramatic
Shocking: It came after Phillip’s shocking affair scandal on This Morning. Amanda has been embroiled in a feud with the presenter since 2018
During their time co-hosting the morning show, Phillip confessed he found working alongside Amanda was ‘occasionally quite scary’.
He told Heat magazine at the time: ‘Amanda kept me on my toes. She has a faulty edit button and she forgets she’s on the telly, which is enormously endearing and funny, but occasionally quite scary.’
After Phil stepped down from This Morning, Amanda posted a strongman emoji on Instagram in what appeared to be a sign of celebration.
She did not caption the post as she remained mysterious about its meaning.
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