Phillip Schofield defends Eamonn Holmes over 'hot tub' joke after announcement he is gay

‘I couldn’t have hoped for a better, calming and loving set of hugs and support,’ says TV presenter

Phillip Schofield has defended Eamonn Holmes after his fellow presenter prompted criticism for comments he made around Schofield’s announcement he is gay.

Schofield revealed he had been “coming to terms” with the fact that he is gay in a statement posted on social media.

The 57-year-old, who has been married for 27 years, thanked his wife Stephanie Lowe and their two daughters, Molly and Ruby, for their “strength and support”.

Schofield spoke about his decision to come out on This Morning alongside his co-hosts, Holly Willoughby, Ruth Langsford and Holmes, who joked that he was “disappointed” with Schofield.

“First of all, I thought you were going to come in and announce you had resigned and I could have your job, but that wasn’t to be,” he said.

Holmes continued: “There’s this great imponderable in life which has always irritated me.

“I thought, ‘How come he can sit in a hot tub with Holly Willoughby and Steph doesn’t have a problem and Dan doesn’t have a problem?” he said in reference to the hosts’ respective spouses.

Schofield laughed and described Willoughby as the “sister I never had”.

But Holmes’ comments prompted criticism on Twitter, with some viewers describing his words as “inappropriate”.

“A beautiful interview on #ThisMorning wrecked by Eamonn making a tacky hot tub joke,” tweeted one viewer.

“Eamonn ruined a very heartfelt moment there #ThisMorning,” added another.

But Schofield defended Holmes.

“Can I just say that that @EamonnHolmes & @RuthieeL​ were utterly magnificent with me today, privately downstairs just the three of us and upstairs in front of the world,” he tweeted.

“I couldn’t have hoped for a better, calming and loving set of hugs and support, I adore them both.

“And for the record, @EamonnHolmes made me laugh, he lightened a very emotional moment and I’m very happy that he did.”