Holly Willoughby said she felt “shaken, troubled, let down and worried” as she made an emotional return to This Morning in the wake of Phillip Schofield’s departure from the ITV programme.
The TV presenter, 42, was back on screen after being pictured in Portugal with her family on a half-term break following the shock departure of her former co-host Schofield and his subsequent revelation of an affair with a younger ITV male employee.
During interviews last week, Schofield told The Sun and BBC that Willoughby did not know about the “unwise, but not illegal” affair.
Willoughby was joined on screen by Josie Gibson and thanked viewers for their support.
Former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes and the show’s former resident doctor Dr Ranj Singh have both separately made allegations about the culture behind the scenes at the programme in the wake of Schofield’s departure.
ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall has been called to a parliamentary committee on June 14 to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling following Schofield’s exit.
An overnight report in The Sun suggested Schofield indicated he would not be watching Willoughby’s return to screen, with a friend telling the publication he “physically could not watch — he’s not there yet.”
