Alison Hammond is left squirming as comedian Josh Widdicombe makes an awkward Phillip Schofield gag during her latest TV gig.
The This Morning host, who last weekend paid tribute to the disgraced ex-presenter, stayed silent as the studio audience gasped at the joke, which will air on tonight’s episode of Rob Beckett’s Smart TV on Sky Max.
Alison and The Last Leg star Josh, 40, are team captains on the TV-themed series, which is hosted by comedian Rob, 38.
Presenter Alison, 49, prompted the quip after she revealed the only television she watches during her downtime is herself on This Morning, via catch up, because she’s ‘too busy’ due to her other numerous TV jobs.
But Josh hit back: ‘You’re the only person who’s ever gone onto ITV Player and played This Morning… since the episode where Phillip left.’
Alison Hammond is left squirming as comedian Josh Widdicombe makes an awkward Phillip Schofield gag during her latest TV gig
The This Morning host stayed silent as the studio audience gasped at Josh Widdicombe’s joke, which will air on tonight’s episode of Rob Beckett’s Smart TV on Sky Max
Presenter Alison prompted the quip after she revealed the only television she watches during her downtime is herself on This Morning, via catch up, because she’s ‘too busy’
The joke saw Alison’s guest teammate Roman Kemp bury his head in his hands while the This Morning star kept her composure with an awkward grin.
The episode Josh alluded to aired in June last year when Phillip’s longterm co-host Holly Willoughby announced his departure after famously asking viewers, ‘Are you okay?’, before describing how This Morning crew gave ‘love and support to someone not telling the truth,’ a nod to Phillip’s inappropriate relationship with a young show runner he kept secret.
Speaking to The Sunday Times last weekend, Alison addressed Phillip’s departure from the ITV show after 23 years, while also stressing that she didn’t want to ‘get into salacious gossip.’
She said: ‘All I need to say is I personally wish Phillip Schofield all the best.
‘I loved Phillip Schofield. Full stop. But that’s the last thing I would want to speak about.’
Veteran presenter Phillip, 61, has kept a low profile since his departure from ITV, which also saw him lose his role on Dancing On Ice alongside Holly, now occupied by Stephen Mulhern.
He was last seen on Monday looking sombre walking his dog in a London park.
The former Going Live star has not spoken publicly since his tell-all interview with the BBC last June, in which he denied ‘grooming’ his young colleague, 34 years his junior, after meeting him at stage school.
The joke saw Alison’s guest teammate Roman Kemp bury his head in his hands while the This Morning star kept her composure with an awkward grin
Host Rob Beckett quickly moved on from Josh’s Phillip gag to spare Alison any further humiliation
It comes after Alison publicly wished Phillip ‘all the best’ saying she ‘loved’ her former ITV colleague, before he left the broadcaster last May (pictured February 2024)
Veteran presenter Phillip has kept a low profile since his departure from ITV, which also saw him lose his role on Dancing On Ice alongside Holly, now occupied by Stephen Mulhern (pictured October 2022)
The Mail on Sunday recently revealed he paid his young lover to keep quiet over their relationship, handing over a six-figure sum to prevent the man from ever talking about their time together as part of a Non Disclosure Agreement (NDA).
A source familiar with the NDA said: ‘The young man has been fragile for some time. That is no secret.
‘There was a payment made for various matters that followed Phillip’s decision to speak out about his relationship and as part of that, an NDA was arranged and signed.
‘It means that Phil knows that his young ex will not ever be able to speak about their relationships so he can probably sleep a lot better at night now.
‘He has lost a lot but imagine if the full details came out – it would be pretty cataclysmic for him.
‘As for the young man, let’s hope that he can move on with his life now and rebuild it – but it isn’t easy. And it’s a bit rich to present an NDA after Phil had his say with the BBC last year.’
Alison and her Friday co-host Dermot O’Leary were rumoured to be in the running to take over from Phillip and Holly, who quit four months later, but the main presenting job eventually went to Cat Deeley and Ben Shepherd, who started the show’s new era this week.
But Alison insists she never wanted the job full-time, citing her many other TV projects as a major factor.
She explained: ‘We’re the Friday guys. We love being Friday guys. How could I? I live in Birmingham and do Bake Off and For the Love of Dogs.
‘I never wanted that job. Last year we did extra because we were going through issues, but Cat and Ben will save that show.’
- Rob Beckett’s Smart TV continues at 9pm Thursdays on Sky Max & NOW
