Holly Willoughby was visibly emotional as she returned to This Morning for the first time since Phillip Schofield sensationally stepped away from the ITV show.
Holly was co-hosting with Josie Gibson as she made her long awaited reappearance following her extended half-term break.
As we reported earlier, she addressed viewers at the top of Monday’s show as she said she has been feeling “shaken, troubled and let down” about Phillip’s admission he’d had an affair on a young runner who worked on This Morning.
Soon after Holly’s statement, which she had to choke back tears in order to make, viewers took to Twitter to have their say on the latest development in the biggest drama to surround daytime TV in decades.
Some were in support of the presenter, as one viewer tweeted: "Dunno why Holly is getting blamed for criticising Phil but also equally getting blamed for apparently doing nothing about it (dunno why she’s supposed to know what Phil gets up to in his own time but whatever), damned if you do, damned if you don’t #ThisMorning."
While one said: ""I don’t understand the hate parade after Holly too? To me, she was let down my a friend who lied to her. Think about how many times you’ve know the absolute ins and outs of your friends lives? She was clearly nervous too, leave her be. #ThisMorning."
However one viewer said it was "underwhelming", tweeting: "That speech was… underwhelming. Holly kind of confirmed there is no love lost between her and Phil, she seems still mad at him. But from HER side, she did not say how much she knew. She could have denied having any knowledge. Her statement was very economical. #ThisMorning."
"Not Holly throwing Phil under the bus hahahaha #ThisMorning," said another while @AM19518 wrote: "That #HollyWilloughby statement was fake. She knew about Schofiled all along.. #ThisMorning and another added: "That was one of the most insincere things i have ever witnessed in my life #ThisMorning."
One said: "@ ITV @thismorning @hollywills showing they are STILL incredibly out of touch. This speech was self-serving & doesn’t address the big question."
@Jesikadaily1 said: "Interesting play from #ITV & Holly’s PR co.
"The way they agreed to use words WE/US to disassociate her from Phil while influencing audience/jury to identify her as part of public/aggrieved (to save her/ITV skin/cashflow). Amateur & in poor taste. #ThisMorning #HollyWilloughby "
And Niall Farrell added: "As much as I like Holly Willoughby, I think this is about as sincere as a Covid speech by Boris Johnson. Really contrived, heavily scripted and honestly….the hug at the end. Has she been taking PR lessons off Terry Prone?
Rosalind said: "It was insincere, scripted, a desperate attempt to cling onto her job and distance herself from #PhilipSchofield it backfired, her credibility has fallen through the floor! #HollyWilloughby #TheFairweatherfriend.
As Holly appeared back on screens for the first time, the 42-year-old appeared nervous, her voice shook and she was visibly emotional as she addressed viewers.
She said: "Deep breath - firstly, are you OK? I hope so. It feels very strange sitting here without Phil and I imagine you might be feeling a lot like I have - shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what's been going on, and full of questions.
"You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved. That is a lot to process.
"And it's equally hard to see the toll that it's taken on their own mental health. I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone. I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.
"And from my own heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning. Myself, Josie, Dermot, Alison and Craig and every single person on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love."
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