Holly Willoughby has returned to social media after Phillip Schofield’s sensational This Morning exit and bombshell affair confession (Picture: ITV)
Holly Willoughby doesn’t seem to be down in the dumps after all the recent This Morning drama, having returned to social media just hours ahead of Phillip Schofield ‘s bombshell confession.
The daytime TV presenter, 42, has kept a low profile since Phil announced that he would be stepping down from hosting the ITV programme last week.
It came after weeks of speculation that Holly, 42, and Phil, 61, were ‘barely speaking’ behind the scenes, with sources claiming their ‘dwindling’ friendship made for a frosty atmosphere on set.
At the time of his exit, Phil said he would be leaving This Morning with ‘immediate effect’ in a bid to ‘protect’ the show he loves, while his replacement is yet to be confirmed.
He didn’t mention Holly in his announcement post, however, but she did thank him for ’13 great years’ on the sofa in response.
But now, chaos has erupted once more, with Phil admitting to an affair with a younger man who worked on This Morning, while he was still married to his wife and presenting the programme.
Holly is staying on at This Morning after Phil’s exit (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Holly has not yet responded publicly or addressed allegations that she knew about the relationship – which Phil described as ‘unwise but not illegal’ – but she did release a statement after he originally quit This Morning.
‘Hi everyone…’, she began.
‘It’s been over 13 great years presenting This Morning with Phil and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour.’
‘The sofa won’t feel the same without him’, she concluded, suggesting she plans to stay on as host for the forseeable, despite calls for her to step down too.
Holly then returned to Instagram earlier today (Friday, May 26) with a very smiley photo, just hours before Phil’s confession dropped via the Daily Mail.
Taking to the account of her lifestyle brand Wylde Moon, Holly posed proudly, showing off her attempt at making Kedegree, a dish previously demonstrated by Clodagh McKenna on This Morning.
The upload was captioned: ‘Fancy joining Holly and trying @Clodagh_McKenna’s Kedegree? Holly says “It’s simple to make and a complete crowd pleaser whether you’re having it for brunch, lunch or dinner! It may have been the first time I’ve made a Kedgeree but it definitely won’t be the last!” Tap the link in our bio for the full recipe.’
Holly was all smiles in the snap, with followers quick to flood the comments section with compliments.
‘Absolutely Gorgeous!!! Xx 😍❤️🔥🔥’, one person commented.
‘Missing this face on my screen! Food looks gorgeous too 😍 xxx’, another penned.
Indeed, Holly is absent from TV screens at the moment after taking an early half-term break.
She’ll return to This Morning on June 5, but it remains unknown who will join her.
Rumours of a fallout continue to engulf the presenting duo, with viewers unsure of Holly’s stance on Phil’s latest comments (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary temporarily took on more permanent hosting duties, currently hot favourites to replace Holly and Phil completely (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
So far, Alison Hammond has been at the helm, along with fellow Friday presenter Dermot O’Leary and stand-in Craig Doyle.
One thing’s for certain, it’s that Phil won’t be returning to ITV at all, having resigned with ‘immediate effect’ after revealing his affair, which he lied to colleagues and bosses about.
In a portion of his lengthy statement, he said: ‘I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family.
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‘I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
‘I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.’
Phil’s talent agent of 35 years then said they were no longer working together.
His future in TV remains unclear.
Phillip Schofield statement in full
‘I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
‘The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
‘Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
‘When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody “forced” me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me. In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.
‘But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
‘I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
‘I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
‘I will reflect on my very bad judgment in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it. To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so.
‘I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.’
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It’s unclear whether she knew of Phillip’s affair.
