Phillip Schofield set to go head to head with ex-best friend Holly Willoughby at the NTA awards

PHILLIP Schofield and ex-best friend Holly Willoughby is set to go head-to-head at the National Television Awards later this year.

Phil, 61 and Holly, 42, are both nominees in the same category for Best TV Presenter.

They are joined by a host of other famous faces in the same category, including the likes of Lorraine Kelly, Ant and Dec, Rylan and Susanna Reid.

While ITV’s This Morning could also scoop Best Daytime show.

But they face fierce competition against popular programmes including Loose Women and Channel 4’s Steph’s Packed Lunch.

Phil announced on Saturday that he was stepping down from This Morning “with immediate effect”.

It came after The Celeb Report revealed that he and Holly Willoughby were “barely speaking” off camera.

The Celeb Report revealed Phillip was told he had lost his job on This Morning just minutes after coming off air on Thursday.

He will get six months’ wages to soften the blow after ITV decided his feud with Holly was costing the network too many viewers.

A source said: “Phil has been given his This Morning wages for six months — but if that was meant to make him feel better, it’s just not working.

“Phil feels he has been shown zero respect and he is devastated by how this has played out.

“He thinks the way he was forced to step down was so unjust and he feels completely broken by how this situation has been handled.

“This Morning was Phil’s life and now he feels he has been knifed without proper consultation.

“Phil consulted his mum Pat and his ex-wife Stephanie before agreeing to step back. He is incredibly close to them both and wanted to gauge their thoughts.

“Phil also spoke with his daughters, Molly — who is a talent agent at his management company YMU — and Ruby.

“It was only after they’d had these discussions that Phil said he would agree to leave.

“Phil has dedicated over 20 years to that show and for it all to end this way has been incredibly upsetting for him.”