Holly Willoughby has branded her Midsomer Murders’ cameo a “dream come true” ahead of her This Morning return.
The ITV star, 42, has been enjoying an extended summer break with husband Dan Baldwin and their three children in the wake of Phillip Schofield’s shock departure from the show in May.
As her holidays come to an end, the 42-year-old was set to make a brief appearance on This Morning before her official return to the sofa on September 4 to promote her cameo on ITV drama Midsomer Murders, which screens this Sunday (August 27).
Teasing her role, Willoughby shared some behind-the-scenes footage, which airs on Friday’s This Morning, on her Instagram a day early and said that being on the series had been a “dream come true”.
She captioned the video: “Thank you to the whole team at Midsomer Murders for making me so welcome and really looking after me… I loved every second.
“Tomorrow there is a behind the scenes look at what we got up to on This Morning and then Sunday 8pm the episode, The Witches of Angels Rise broadcasts on ITV.”
She then went on to explain what was going to unfold in the episode, which also stars Neil Dudgeon, Tracy-Ann Oberman and Colin Salmon.
The ITV darling continued; “Each year, the Midsomer village of Angel’s Rise hosts an annual Psychic Fayre in the vast and gothic Eddon Hall. Founded by the Saint-Stephens family in memory of their late daughter, the event attracts all manner of mediums, psychics and followers of the occult.
“When a body is found surrounded by ritual symbols on the eve of the gathering, Barnaby must step into a world of self-proclaimed witches to find the killer.”
Her social media update comes after her cameo was teased on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain.
Discussing Willoughby’s appearance, which was filmed two years ago, show star Neil Dudgeon said: “She was great, she was thoroughly professional.
“I think she was a bit nervous when she first arrived. She’s playing a character called Holly Willoughby, I wouldn’t like to say that it’s herself.”
This isn’t the first time she has appeared up on the show, with the Dancing on Ice star previously making a cameo back in 2021.
At the time, she described her cameo as one of the best days of her life, with the star’s friends and family rushing to praise her once the episode aired.
Discussing her appearance on This Morning back in 2021, she shared: “Everybody I know who has watched all of Midsomer says it’s one of their favourites we’ve ever made.
“I said to them: ‘Thanks for having me, it was one of the best days of my life’.”
She also revealed to her then co-host Phillip Schofield that it took her almost 25 takes before she was able to deliver her scripted words out properly.
Willoughby admitted: “It wasn’t ‘take one’, put it that way... Or ‘take two’ or ‘take 10’. Around about take 25 I got the words out but it’s fine.”
