This Morning chef Phil Vickery has joked that working with hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby is like “working with children”.
After today’s cooking segment (January 28) erupted into fits of laughter, Phil said the presenting duo are “exactly” the same off camera as they are on.
And, after 21 years on This Morning, he exclusively told Entertainment Daily that he wouldn’t have it any other way.
What happened to chef Phil Vickery on today’s This Morning?
On today’s show, Phil showed viewers how to create three delicious dishes the incorporated a tin of tomato soup.
It was a well-timed piece because the chef has actually just teamed up with Love Canned Food to promote its new Family Essentials Box.
Read more: This Morning’s Josie Gibson admits she hasn’t felt sexy since becoming a mum
Chatting about Phillip and Holly’s disgust over Phil using canned tomato soup to make a chocolate muffin, the chef said it was a “classic example of their reaction”.
Phil Vickery has made chocolate muffins by using tomato soup on #ThisMorning, and now I’m sat here questioning everything I ever thought about the world.
— Tom (@toms96_) January 28, 2021
What. you make muffins out of soup! Not sure I’d like the taste of that. #ThisMorning
— Stuart Young Esq (@StuartYoung001) January 28, 2021
“I’m like, taste it! In the end they liked it. I do it occasionally on purpose to provoke a reaction with Holly and Phil and the viewers, then Gok [Wan] got involved as well,” Phil laughed.
“I get more enjoyment cooking on This Morning than I ever did winning Michelin stars and restaurant of the year,” he added.
Like working with ‘children’
But just how does he keep his cool, and stick to the recipe, when so much is going on off camera?
“I’ve got a director in my ear saying: ‘Keep going, keep going Phil!'”
He also revealed that Holly and Phil are quite the pranksters when it comes to new chefs appearing on the show.
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“That’s half the problem, when you get chefs going on and they don’t know, I say they’ll try and trip you up, they’ll ask you a curveball question or take the [bleep], so you need to be really on the ball. I just keep going. It’s like working with children.”
So what are they like behind the scenes?
“Exactly the same. [Bleep]takers. I’ve been very lucky to be on that show for all these years. I’m very lucky to be doing it,” he added.
‘I’ve got a shelf life’
Clearly popular with This Morning bosses, Phil exclusively revealed he’s just signed another year-long contract with the show.
“Every year I get a contract is a bonus. I’ve just got one now, I’ve signed it today, another year.
“Everyone’s got a shelf life, I’ll go one day, but when I do I’ll shake their hands and I’ll say thank you, I’ve had a good run,” Phil said.
Phil says fellow chef Gino D’Acampo is a ‘glorified waiter’
So, behind the scenes, is there any rivalry with the other This Morning chefs?
How do Phil and Gino D’Acampo get on, for instance?
Everyone’s got a shelf life, I’ll go one day, but when I do I’ll shake their hands and I’ll say thank you, I’ve had a good run.
“Gino is a glorified waiter, he’s not even a chef,” Phil joked.
“No, we get on really well. He always calls me the master so he knows his place [laughs].
“James [Martin] I’ve worked with for years. John Torode, another good lad. I don’t get involved in that old stuff, I just do what I do.”
Chef Phil Vickery is a huge Alison Hammond fan
Phil is also a fan of new Friday host Alison Hammond – although he admits her energy wears him out!
“Alison is absolutely bonkers. We filmed together in Brazil and we were mucking about and she just wears me out. She is non-stop.
“You wind her up and off she goes. You stand back and watch, you don’t have to do anything. And the thing about Alison is she’s never changed. I take my hat off to her.
“Rylan [Clark-Neal]’s the same, he was another one who just said I’m so lucky to be here. They’re very humble and I think that’s really important.
“I remember Rylan saying to me, he was getting married, and a magazine approached him and said we’ll buy the wedding. He said no no, it’s private. And I thought good on you mate. I had huge respect for that.”
Ready, Steady, Cook: ‘Some things you just leave’
On the subject of Rylan, Phil said he has no intention of appearing on his Ready, Steady, Cook reboot.
“People used to berate me for doing Ready, Steady, Cook,” he said.
“But if a show like that inspires someone to at least go out and cook something or bake something it’s done its job.
“I was never asked [to appear in the new series] and I think things move on.
“We were meant to be doing a stage tour around the UK and that was going to happen but I said some things you just leave, you’ve done it and you move on and I wouldn’t have done it.
“Good luck to everybody who does it. It was brilliant. When we first started doing the celebrity versions it was getting nine million viewers.”
Is Phil happy post-split?
It’s been a rough time for Phil, with his recent split from wife Fern Britton, so ED! asks if he’s happy.
“Completely happy,” he confirms. “The kids are all good.
“Life… You’ve got to be positive and I’m always a positive person,” he added.
Phil Vickery has joined forces with Love Canned Food to launch the Family Essentials Box, containing a range of canned food staples from brands like Princes, Napolina and Batchelors. It costs £10 and each box sold will enable Fare Share to provide the equivalent of two meals to those who need it most across the UK. Visit the website here to buy one.
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