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Fiona Phillips has revealed that she could feel nothing but sympathy for Heather Mills when she broke down on GMTV last year.
Speaking as her divorce battle with Sir Paul McCartney rumbled on last November, Mills told the breakfast show host that she had been driven "close to suicide" because of a media backlash against her.
After the interview was over, Phillips left the sofa with an emotional Heather and took her back to her dressing room.
"I was supposed to be presenting the next item but I couldn't let her go like that. She was a woman on the brink and she was still shaking," Phillips told The Mirror. "We sat down in the dressing room and she poured her heart out about everything. The vilification of her and all the frustrations of her relationship with Sir Paul.
"Heather had been pushed to the edge. It was shocking, awful to see someone break down like that. She was talking and talking and I had to get back to the sofa and get on with my job. In the end I said: 'Heather, I've really got to go.' And she left.
"I felt sorry for her. She was heartbroken. I can see why people find it difficult to warm to her. She's forceful and driven. And yes, she's been a bit economical with the truth on some occasions. But she's not a murderer, she's not a paedophile."
Phillips announced that she is quitting GMTV last week. She will front her final episode in December.
