Leigh Francis, best known for his alter-ego Keith Lemon, has revealed that he reached out to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield when ITV’s This Morning affair scandal broke out earlier this year
Leigh Francis has made headlines after speaking out about the recent Russell Brand scandal – and now, he’s revealed that he reached out to both Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby after ‘all the telly drama’ on This Morning unfolded. The Celebrity Juice presenter, who is better known for his alter-ego Keith Lemon, has admitted that he ‘reached out to everyone’ following the news earlier this year that Phillip had engaged in an affair with a younger male colleague.
Leigh, who used to front his popular ITV panel show with Holly and Fearne Cotton for over 10 years, has lots of friendships in the industry, and sent messages to all his pals at the television organisation to check how they were doing when the news broke out in May. Phillip admitted to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair that Holly insisted she was unaware of.
In an interview with MailOnline, the comedian said he reached out to both Holly, 42, and Phillip, 61, with a supportive message. He explained: “Throughout all the telly drama, I just text people and go, ‘Are you ok?’ I reached out to everyone.” Leigh also shared his thoughts on why Holly had returned to host on the famous couch, joking: “They pay well, don’t they?” It was recently reported that Holly could expect a pay rise this year, with her salary rumoured to be jumping from £700,000 to £1 million.
Leigh added: “I’m guessing she still enjoys it, so I think you should leave a show when you don’t enjoy it anymore.” A source previously told the Mirror that Holly “sees her future very much on the sofa”. They said: “Holly is determined to stay put – the only reason she would leave now is if This Morning is axed. She has absolutely no plans to leave.”