As This Morning anchors Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby battle accusations of a split, a new survey reveals who the audience prefers.
Over the last week it’s been claimed that the breakfast television hosts had been ‘barely communicating’ behind-the-scenes and that their relationship had ‘cooled’.
While Phillip, 61, stated that he and Holly, 42, were “still the best of friends,” she has yet to react, despite the fact that the duo is still putting on a unified front on the ITV programme.
Since the claims surfaced, viewers have speculated on the show’s future, with it being reported that Holly had considered leaving the show because she was unable to cope with the circumstances.
However, it’s been reported that the broadcaster is considering firing Phil rather than his co-host, with a source claiming it’s ‘very doubtful’ that he’ll return to This Morning in September.
Now YouGov Ratings data has revealed that when it comes down to the two, Holly is the more popular of the pair.
While Holly received 54% of the vote, Phil received 37% of the vote.
The research also found that the couple are equally well-known, with 97% of the public having heard of them.
Holly’s score ranked her 32nd out of 462 in YouGov’s rankings of contemporary TV personalities, while Phillip is down at 173rd.
He is considerably more actively despised than Holly, with 33% of Brits disliking him against 21% for her.
Similarly, in 2017, a poll of renowned double acts indicated that 39% of people familiar with the couple favoured Holly, while 30% chose Phil.
When it comes to figures, Holly is more popular among males, at 54% to 49% among women, while Phillip is more popular among women, at 40% to 34%.
However, in the fourth quarter of 2022, Holly’s popularity dropped nine points to 44%, while Phil’s dropped 11 points to 34%.
While her figures have subsequently recovered, his have not.
The numbers could indicate the ongoing public criticism the presenters faced after being caught up in ‘queue-jumping’.
Back in September, the couple came under criticism for allegedly’skipping the queue’ to view the late Queen Elizabeth laying in state.
They sparked outrage after being photographed inside Westminster Hall without having waited in the excessively long public queue.
Despite the fact that This Morning executives issued a statement insisting that Holly and Phillip did not skip forward and were there to report on the event as journalists, a petition was created demanding for them to be removed off air.
The presenters addressed the controversy on their programme and stated that they did not take anyone’s position in the queue.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
Source My Celebrity Life.
