HOLLY Willoughby and Phillip Schofield wear big smiles on their faces as they ride scooters in an ad promoting ITV’s new look daytime TV schedule – despite being embroiled in a bitter feud.
The This Morning stars clashed behind the scenes this year, but attempted to put it behind them in their final show together of 2019.
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The new promo clip sees GMB’s flagship duo Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid pass a golden baton to Lorraine who wastes no time hurling it to a grinning Holly and Phil.
Using the speedy changes to highlight the fact there’ll be no long gaps between the station’s daytime regulars after the axing of the Jeremy Kyle show, Holly and Phil jump on scooters and whizz into the Loose Women studio.
There they make the final exchange, handing over to Nadia Sawalha, Stacey Solomon, Brenda Edwards and Coleen Nolan.
The relationships between the This Morning stars looked rock solid in the clip, despite reports of a toxic environment backstage.
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Holly and Phil’s friendship became strained earlier this year when Phillip didn’t want Holly to celebrate or mention her Bafta victory for her work on I’m A Celebrity.
Things also escalated when Holly wanted Phil to stop posting social pictures of her guzzling alcohol on his social media, but was too nervous to ask him, so she opted to do it via the management company they share.
Meanwhile The Sun Online exclusively revealed in May that ITV bosses were trying to work out how to save plummeting viewing figures after pulling The Jeremy Kyle Show.
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The new schedule kicks off at 6am, January 6 with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain.
The show will run for half an hour longer longer before the morning duo will hand over to Lorraine Kelly at 9am. She will then pass the baton on to Holly and Phil at their earlier slot of 10am.
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The Loose Women ladies will be on at 12.20pm and end at 1.30pm.
ITV agonised over a permanent fix to replace The Jeremy Kyle Show – that regularly attracted one million viewers.
It was pulled following the death of Steve Dymond, 63, who took his own life shortly after failing a lie detector on the show.
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ITV bosses were fearful of introducing a programme similar to The Jeremy Kyle show in case it drew comparisons and struggled to build an audience.
A TV insider revealed: “The Jeremy Kyle Show axe has been a huge shock for everyone at ITV.
“On top of that, viewing figures have plummeted since Dickinson’s Real Deal replaced it – and it’s getting worse by the day.
“It has been the channel’s highest-rated daytime show for years, so they urgently need to find something to keep viewers happy.”
They added: “Bosses have been locked in talks over a number of possibilities, one idea that was seriously discussed what that the other main programmes like This Morning and Loose Women could be moved forward and on for longer to fill the gap.
“That would mean them airing an hour earlier in a huge shift to the programme schedule that’s been fixed for more than a decade.”
Bosses at ITV insist the new format will help bring a “better schedule for 2020.”
Emma Gormley, Managing Director ITV Daytime, said: “The ITV daytime teams consists of the very best on screen and off screen talent in the business, enabling us to set the agenda from early morning until the afternoon, as we pass the baton from show to show.
“We can’t wait to bring our audiences an even greater abundance of personalities, surprises, warmth and humour and a bigger and better schedule for 2020.”
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