Celebrities

Fiona Phillips Finally Reveals What It Was Really Like Working With Eamonn Holmes

Published on July 8, 2025

Fiona Phillips has lifted the lid on what really went on behind the scenes during her time working with Eamonn Holmes on GMTV, nearly 20 years after he left the show. The pair fronted the popular ITV breakfast programme together for almost a decade, from 1996 until Eamonn decided to move on in 2005.

At the time, Eamonn put out a gracious statement, calling it a “privilege” to wake up the nation each day. “I’ve covered every type of story imaginable at GMTV and it’s the right time to move on,” he said. “I’ll particularly miss my partnership with Fiona Phillips and I wish her and all the rest of the team the very best for the future.”

Fiona, ever the straight talker, joked that she’d spent more time with Eamonn than with her husband, Martin Frizell, who was then the boss at This Morning. “This is our ninth year together. I will miss him more than words can say,” she added at the time, reported the Daily Record.

But now, writing for The Mail on Sunday with Martin, Fiona’s offering a more candid reflection on their working relationship. She didn’t hold back in revealing that, while Eamonn was certainly a good journalist, he wasn’t always the easiest person to share a sofa with.

“He was a good journalist but not always the easiest person to work with,” she said, adding that his decision to leave GMTV was, in her view, down to the show becoming too focused on celebrity content.

Fiona admitted that his departure actually gave her a sense of freedom and a new direction. For years, she felt like she was always in the background during the major interviews. “If there was a big interview to be done with a politician, Eamonn would lead the conversation and I was supposed to chip in with a few questions near the end – and I hated that,” she revealed.

She also dropped a bombshell, saying she later discovered Eamonn had been earning “significantly more” than her, despite them doing exactly the same job. “It seems incredible that well into this century, no one had batted an eyelid at a man being paid more than a woman for doing exactly the same job,” she wrote.

After his time at GMTV, Eamonn moved to Sky News where he fronted Sunrise, and then on to This Morning. These days, he’s a main face over at GB News where he hosts their breakfast show.

As for Fiona, she’s been focusing on her writing, with her latest book Remember When: My Life with Alzheimer’s shining a deeply personal light on her journey since being diagnosed with the disease in 2022. She had initially mistaken her symptoms for the menopause.

When Fiona went public with the diagnosis, Eamonn paid tribute to her live on air, calling her his “dear friend” and noting how she’d always feared the illness due to her mother’s experience. He signed off with a heartfelt message, telling viewers, “We wish Fiona all the best.”

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