Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby made an unconventional return to work on This Morning on Monday, as the cast of Mary Poppins took over the show, with the two presenters nowhere to be seen in the opening moments.
Having been absent from the studio of the ITV studio for close to two months and replaced by a series of different guest hosts, the daytime show's main presenting duo were back on their old stomping ground to start This Morning's autumn season. However, neither Phillip or Holly were on screen for at least a few minutes as the show kicked off with a performance from the hit West End musical.
Lead actress Zizi Strallen was front and centre as she and her co-stars commanded attention with Mary Poppins anthem Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, before Phillip finally made his entrance through a door, armed with a chimney sweep brush and a rather dodgy Cockney accent. He then delivered a Burt-esque line to introduce Holly as she 'floated' down from the sky, with some help from CGI, in an arrival reminiscent of Julie Andrews' famous Disney character.
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While many viewers loved seeing the Mary Poppins opening, with Phillip asking the cast if they could stay and perform again, rather than the show being paused for the impending PM announcement, others were baffled by what they saw on screen. One unimpressed viewer took to Twitter to moan: "Not this Mary Poppins c**p again ffs," with another writing: "I love Mary poppins but they just murdered it."
There was some praise for the energetic opening though, with one fan, also delighted to see Phillip and Holly back in charge, writing: "Ok, that was so weirdly wonderful and much needed to start the week haha already relieved Holly and Phil are back on our screens."
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