Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary pay tribute to Phillip Schofield on This Morning

On Saturday, Phillip Schofield announced he was stepping down from presenting the ITV talk show This Morning with “immediate effect” after more than 20 years on the programme

Television personalities Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary hailed departing This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield as “one of the best live television broadcasters [the UK] has ever had”, as they presented the first episode of the British morning television fixture since Schofield’s exit.

On Saturday, Schofield announced he was stepping down from presenting the ITV talk show with “immediate effect” after more than 20 years on the programme.