Holly Willoughby fell prey to an unexpected on-air prank by This Morning co-presenter Phillip Schofield.
Schofield’s stunt caused Willoughby to walk off set in humourous admonishment, while viewers claim to have heard the host use explicit language in her immediate reaction.
The incident took place during Thursday’s (26 January) episode of the popular ITV morning show, when the presenters discussed M Night Shyamalan’s new horror film, Knock at the Cabin.
Introducing the next segment, which featured interviews with castmembers Rupert Grint and Ben Aldridge, Schofield suddenly yelled out mid-sentence, causing Willoughby to react in shock.
While Willoughby cannot be heard clearly swearing, she makes a sound that closely resembles the start of an “F-bomb”, and then immediately covers her mouth with her hand.
“I haven’t done that for a while,” Schofield said, as his co-star looked around in shock. “It’s perfect.”
Willoughby was then seen walking off the soundstage before Schofield finished reading his lines.
Viewers reacted to the moment on social media.
“Holly does not look happy,” one Twitter user observed.
“I swear Holly dropped the F word,” wrote another, sharing a clip of the incident.
“Sounds like she started to say it but stopped herself,” someone else suggested.
“Hahaha I swear Holly was about to say f*** then lol,” another viewer wrote.
Willoughby is herself no stranger to a prank. In fact, the presenter recently took part in a practical joke at the expense of former England footballer Peter Crouch.
During a segment on Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Willoughby was seen climbing into Crouch’s bed in place of his wife, Abbey Clancy.
