Phillip Schofield unfollows former best pal Holly Willoughby ahead of tonight's NTAs

Phillip Schofield appears to have put the final nail in the coffin of his relationship with Holly Willoughby as the former This Morning presenter has officially unfollowed his co-presenter.

The move comes after Schofield announced his departure from the weekday chat show earlier this year; a decision which Willoughby initially responded to in a friendly manner.

At the time she indicated they had ended on good terms as she released a statement thanking Schofield for the time they spent together, adding: "The sofa won't feel the same without him."

Just a few days after Schofield's departure from This Morning, he admitted to being in an 'inappropriate but not illegal' relationship with a younger colleague.

In the months since, it seems that the relationship between the two presenters appears to have broken down to the point that Schofield no longer even wants to see Willoughby on his Instagram feed.

A quick search of the people Schofield is following on the social media platform shows that Willoughby is definitely not one of them, though Willoughby is still following Schofield.

ITV

Willoughby regularly posts on Instagram, sharing updates of her work life, family life, and her outfits for each of her This Morning appearances.

Schofield's telling decision to unfollow his former co-star comes as Willoughby prepares for her first National Television Awards without Schofield; an event the pair have previously celebrated together, especially on the This Morning sofa the next day.

Things went downhill for the presenters last year when they were booed by some members of the crowd after they were accused of skipping the queue to see the Queen lying in state following her death.

This year neither Schofield nor Willoughby have been nominated for an award, though fellow This Morning presenter Alison Hammond has been nominated for the award for best TV presenter.

Instagram/@alisonhammond55

Hammond joined Willoughby on This Morning yesterday (4 September), as Willoughby returned from her summer break from the show.

The presenter's comeback sparked mixed responses from viewers, with many branding her return as 'cringey' as the show opened with the cast of Mamma Mia.

"This is it, we’ve reached peak cringe," one person wrote.

Another added: "God ! This is so cringe worthy today. Nerves may be a part of it, but they're trying too hard and it's awful. At least in the hols there were some genuine laughs. #ThisMorning."

Another viewer went as far as to suggest Josie Gibson, Craig Doyle, Hammond and Dermot O'Leary should be the 'full time hosts', taking over from Willoughby.