It’s been a tough one.” Holly Willoughby’s recent summary of what has surely been the most difficult year and a half of her life was an understatement, to say the least. In October 2023, the queen of daytime television stepped down from her role as the host of ITV’s This Morning, after a disturbing plan to kidnap, rape and kill her was foiled. The impact on Willoughby, who bravely waived her right to anonymity at the start of the trial, was “life-changing” and “catastrophic”, according to her barrister.
The horrifying ordeal came during an already difficult time in her professional life, as Willoughby had only just been caught up in the workplace drama that engulfed This Morning that summer. Phillip Schofield, her co-star and close friend for almost 20 years, left ITV after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger co-worker. The fallout was huge, and, perhaps unfairly, seemed to tarnish Willoughby by association.
