Vanessa Feltz has furiously defended Holly Willoughby after her popularity was questioned during a TV debate about Holly's decision to quit This Morning.
TV star Vanessa, 61, found herself embroiled in a furious row with showbiz expert JJ Anisiobi on her TalkTV show on Wednesday as they discussed Holly's shock decision to leave the ITV daytime show after 14 years.
"If I'm honest, I think ever since Queue-Gate last year, I'm not sure the audience has been in tune with Holly," JJ said to Vanessa. "Certainly after what happened with Phillip Schofield and his scandal and the way that played out, I think for many viewers perhaps they think it was time both Holly and Phil left the show."
Vanessa appeared to be completely taken aback by JJ's comments and quickly jumped to defend Holly, 42, who she worked with regularly on This Morning and is close friends with.
She responded: "Obviously Holly had just signed a brand new contract to do at least two more years on the show and the show was desperate to keep her. She was very keen to present it and she was going to be the main anchor with various co-anchors coming and going.
"If she hadn't been popular, they wouldn't have been so keen to have her as the main anchor of the programme," Vanessa added.
JJ went on to point out that he'd heard "boos" from the crowd at the National Television Awards when Holly's photo appeared on screen, to which Vanessa furiously replied: "Well I was right behind her and I didn't hear any boos from the audience!"
Showbiz expert JJ did point out that he wasn't "attacking Holly personally" but thinks it might have been "the right time" for her to exit This Morning.
Vanessa once again defended her friend and insisted her popularity has not waned. She said: "I'm going to say that she's immensely popular with viewers – so popular that the programme was desperate to keep her. I think her star shines as brightly as it ever did. She's in high demand. The BBC are always trying to poach her, everyone is always trying to poach her."
The TalkTV host finished by adding: "I think she's unbelievably good at what she does and people really identify with her and love to watch her. She's a pleasure to know on-screen and off-screen as well. I think she'll be very sorely missed and I'll miss working with her."
Behind the scenes, it seems many agree with JJ's points. A source told OK!: “It’s quite clear to anyone who knows about queuegate and Phillip’s affair with the runner that Hollys popularity is at an all time low.
“Behind the scenes, many TalkTV presenters have been keen to point out that JJ was right about This Morning’s audience numbers dropping since Holly returned."
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