Top 10 Double Acts Who HATE Each Other
Welcome to WatchMojoUK, and today we're counting down British double acts who can't stand each other.
We're looking at double acts and famous duos who hate each other, and we're including double acts who have since reconciled – they just have to have gone through a period of hatred.
#10: James Corden & Mat Horne
While they've reunited for “Gavin & Stacey's” 2019 and 2024 specials, there were years when Corden and Horne weren't speaking. They became a popular duo in the 2000s, hosting award ceremonies, starring in their own sketch show, and even fronting the critically panned horror comedy “Lesbian Vampire Killers”. But eventually they went their separate ways, with Corden heading to the States for years. The pair have, in recent years, denied that there was any kind of feud, but their professional partnership came to an end regardless. And it still speaks volumes that Horne refused to be interviewed for Corden's episode of “Life Stories”.
#9: Eamonn Holmes & Ruth Langsford
For decades, married presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford were daytime TV royalty. But then Holmes went and made some comments about how the science wasn't in yet on whether 5G caused Covid, and the two ultimately got the boot from “This Morning” – though Langsford stayed on “Loose Women”. Holmes pivoted to GB News but, behind the scenes, has suffered myriad health problems. In 2024, they announced that they were divorcing. It's not clear exactly why; some have suggested Holmes was talking to another woman, others have said that Ruth doesn't want to be his carer. But the tabloids have been plaguing them, with Ruth allegedly “reduced to tears” after fake rumours swirled that Holmes had gotten engaged.
#8: Peter Kay & Dave Spikey
It looks like they've buried the hatchet now, but for over a decade, there was bad blood between Peter Kay and his “Phoenix Nights” co-creator, co-writer, and co-star Dave Spikey. It all stemmed from a Writers Guild of Great Britain nomination, in which only Kay was nominated. Spikey and fellow co-writer Neil Fitzmaurice didn't get a nod, and this crediting issue drove a rift between them. Spikey thought that Kay taking all the credit didn't do him and Fitzmaurice justice, as they were also credited as writers on the show itself. In 2011 it emerged that they'd reconciled because a “Phoenix Nights” film was in the works, but that never materialised.
#7: Phillip Schofield & Holly Willoughby
Another daytime duo, they were, of course, never married, but still had a fall out for the ages. After it finally emerged that all those rumours were true and Schofield WAS carrying on with a younger man behind his wife's back, the Schofield/Willoughby rift was cemented. This came after months of speculation that things weren't all sunshine and roses behind the scenes, and Holly addressed the nation after Schofield's departure to publicly slate him for lying to everybody. She's not the only ex-co-host Schofield has fallen out with, either; Fern Britton and Amanda Holden also have problems with him.
#6: Pete & Dud
They were hugely popular and influential comedians in the 60s and 70s, but weren't necessarily the best of friends backstage. Though they created popular sketches and enduring characters, things deteriorated when Peter Cook became more and more reliant on alcohol. They had very little to do with each other after a comedy adaptation of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in 1978, though they did do a few fundraisers in the 80s and 90s. In 1995, Cook passed away as a result of complications from his alcoholism, after spending his later years sticking to comedy, while Dudley Moore became a successful actor as well.
#5: Matt Lucas & David Walliams
Another duo who have been able to overcome their feud in recent years is Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the pair behind “Little Britain”. Despite being the country's top comedians in the 2000s, they fell out in 2011, with Lucas confessing in his autobiography that backstage, the rows never stopped. Things ultimately reached a point of no return – at least for a while – and they continued to trade barbs in books and the newspapers for years. But what was the thing that brought these two back together? Ironically enough, one of the most divisive issues in the country: Brexit. Yes, in 2019 they came back for Brexit special of “Little Britain” and have been working together on and off ever since.
#4: Steptoe and Son
Much of the appeal of “Steptoe and Son” was the never-ending conflict between Albert and Harold, but much of that conflict allegedly came from the real-life disdain Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell had for each other. Now, it's since come out that many of the stories about their dislike were exaggerated, and likely made the show even more popular, but the show did ultimately end because its stars outgrew it. Corbett wanted to take on roles with more meat on their bones, while Brambell started drinking more and couldn't keep up on set. A few years after it ended, they went on a reunion tour, but this went disastrously. Despite regular rows, they continued appearing in short-lived revivals.
#3: Kim Woodburn & Aggie Mackenzie
The Queens of Clean took Britain's dirtiest homeowners to task back in the 2000s, but they were often butting heads. The big problem was that Woodburn thrives on drama and conflict, as anyone who's seen her time on “Big Brother” will know, while Mackenzie would prefer to avoid all that. They ended up appearing in a panto together, but tensions bubbled over. This was thirteen years ago, and they haven't spoken off-camera since – and rarely ON-camera, for that matter. Considering Woodburn seems to make lifelong enemies wherever she goes, it's hardly surprising.
#2: Cannon & Ball
Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball shot to fame in the 1970s after showing up on “Opportunity Knocks”, where many old-school comedians and double acts got their start. But while they maintained a close friendship up until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, for a few years, the two went through a massive falling out. This was in the 1980s, where, despite working together on huge productions and starring in frequent theatrical performances and pantomimes, they weren't speaking to each other whatsoever. By the 1990s they'd patched things up, luckily, but there were many dark days in their long career.
#1: Newman & Baddiel
The 1990s was a weird time for comedy, as a new wave of popular comics took the country by storm, becoming rock stars. Chief among them were Robert Newman and David Baddiel, the biggest comNedians in the UK at the beginning of the decade. Many report that the two never really liked each other, though, and their partnership only lasted for a few years until irreparably breaking down in one infamous live show at Wembley in 1993, in which they were barely on stage together. They were the first comedians to sell out the entire arena, but after the gig – the last on their nationwide tour – the two acrimoniously parted ways and never worked together again.
Let us know in the comments who your favourite comedy double act is. read more...
Welcome to WatchMojoUK, and today we're counting down British double acts who can't stand each other.
We're looking at double acts and famous duos who hate each other, and we're including double acts who have since reconciled – they just have to have gone through a period of hatred.
#10: James Corden & Mat Horne
While they've reunited for “Gavin & Stacey's” 2019 and 2024 specials, there were years when Corden and Horne weren't speaking. They became a popular duo in the 2000s, hosting award ceremonies, starring in their own sketch show, and even fronting the critically panned horror comedy “Lesbian Vampire Killers”. But eventually they went their separate ways, with Corden heading to the States for years. The pair have, in recent years, denied that there was any kind of feud, but their professional partnership came to an end regardless. And it still speaks volumes that Horne refused to be interviewed for Corden's episode of “Life Stories”.
#9: Eamonn Holmes & Ruth Langsford
For decades, married presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford were daytime TV royalty. But then Holmes went and made some comments about how the science wasn't in yet on whether 5G caused Covid, and the two ultimately got the boot from “This Morning” – though Langsford stayed on “Loose Women”. Holmes pivoted to GB News but, behind the scenes, has suffered myriad health problems. In 2024, they announced that they were divorcing. It's not clear exactly why; some have suggested Holmes was talking to another woman, others have said that Ruth doesn't want to be his carer. But the tabloids have been plaguing them, with Ruth allegedly “reduced to tears” after fake rumours swirled that Holmes had gotten engaged.
#8: Peter Kay & Dave Spikey
It looks like they've buried the hatchet now, but for over a decade, there was bad blood between Peter Kay and his “Phoenix Nights” co-creator, co-writer, and co-star Dave Spikey. It all stemmed from a Writers Guild of Great Britain nomination, in which only Kay was nominated. Spikey and fellow co-writer Neil Fitzmaurice didn't get a nod, and this crediting issue drove a rift between them. Spikey thought that Kay taking all the credit didn't do him and Fitzmaurice justice, as they were also credited as writers on the show itself. In 2011 it emerged that they'd reconciled because a “Phoenix Nights” film was in the works, but that never materialised.
#7: Phillip Schofield & Holly Willoughby
Another daytime duo, they were, of course, never married, but still had a fall out for the ages. After it finally emerged that all those rumours were true and Schofield WAS carrying on with a younger man behind his wife's back, the Schofield/Willoughby rift was cemented. This came after months of speculation that things weren't all sunshine and roses behind the scenes, and Holly addressed the nation after Schofield's departure to publicly slate him for lying to everybody. She's not the only ex-co-host Schofield has fallen out with, either; Fern Britton and Amanda Holden also have problems with him.
#6: Pete & Dud
They were hugely popular and influential comedians in the 60s and 70s, but weren't necessarily the best of friends backstage. Though they created popular sketches and enduring characters, things deteriorated when Peter Cook became more and more reliant on alcohol. They had very little to do with each other after a comedy adaptation of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” in 1978, though they did do a few fundraisers in the 80s and 90s. In 1995, Cook passed away as a result of complications from his alcoholism, after spending his later years sticking to comedy, while Dudley Moore became a successful actor as well.
#5: Matt Lucas & David Walliams
Another duo who have been able to overcome their feud in recent years is Matt Lucas and David Walliams, the pair behind “Little Britain”. Despite being the country's top comedians in the 2000s, they fell out in 2011, with Lucas confessing in his autobiography that backstage, the rows never stopped. Things ultimately reached a point of no return – at least for a while – and they continued to trade barbs in books and the newspapers for years. But what was the thing that brought these two back together? Ironically enough, one of the most divisive issues in the country: Brexit. Yes, in 2019 they came back for Brexit special of “Little Britain” and have been working together on and off ever since.
#4: Steptoe and Son
Much of the appeal of “Steptoe and Son” was the never-ending conflict between Albert and Harold, but much of that conflict allegedly came from the real-life disdain Harry H. Corbett and Wilfrid Brambell had for each other. Now, it's since come out that many of the stories about their dislike were exaggerated, and likely made the show even more popular, but the show did ultimately end because its stars outgrew it. Corbett wanted to take on roles with more meat on their bones, while Brambell started drinking more and couldn't keep up on set. A few years after it ended, they went on a reunion tour, but this went disastrously. Despite regular rows, they continued appearing in short-lived revivals.
#3: Kim Woodburn & Aggie Mackenzie
The Queens of Clean took Britain's dirtiest homeowners to task back in the 2000s, but they were often butting heads. The big problem was that Woodburn thrives on drama and conflict, as anyone who's seen her time on “Big Brother” will know, while Mackenzie would prefer to avoid all that. They ended up appearing in a panto together, but tensions bubbled over. This was thirteen years ago, and they haven't spoken off-camera since – and rarely ON-camera, for that matter. Considering Woodburn seems to make lifelong enemies wherever she goes, it's hardly surprising.
#2: Cannon & Ball
Tommy Cannon and Bobby Ball shot to fame in the 1970s after showing up on “Opportunity Knocks”, where many old-school comedians and double acts got their start. But while they maintained a close friendship up until Bobby Ball's death in 2020, for a few years, the two went through a massive falling out. This was in the 1980s, where, despite working together on huge productions and starring in frequent theatrical performances and pantomimes, they weren't speaking to each other whatsoever. By the 1990s they'd patched things up, luckily, but there were many dark days in their long career.
#1: Newman & Baddiel
The 1990s was a weird time for comedy, as a new wave of popular comics took the country by storm, becoming rock stars. Chief among them were Robert Newman and David Baddiel, the biggest comNedians in the UK at the beginning of the decade. Many report that the two never really liked each other, though, and their partnership only lasted for a few years until irreparably breaking down in one infamous live show at Wembley in 1993, in which they were barely on stage together. They were the first comedians to sell out the entire arena, but after the gig – the last on their nationwide tour – the two acrimoniously parted ways and never worked together again.
Let us know in the comments who your favourite comedy double act is. read more...
