This Morning viewers 'can agree' on Josie Gibson claim…

This Morning viewers 'can agree' on Josie Gibson claim as they react to new Holly Willoughby pairing

This Morning viewers were left sharing many of the same thoughts as they tuned into the programme to see Holly Willoughby back on screen for the first time. The presenter was joined by Josie Gibson as she made her comeback following the scandal engulfing her former co-star Phillip Schofield.

After a brief 'Hi' to viewers watching at home, Holly turned to Josie and thanked her for being with her before launching into a statement. During her emotional return to the popular ITV daytime show for the first time in a fortnight, the 42-year-old said she felt "shaken, troubled, let down and worried" about the events that led to Phillip's shock departure from This Morning.

She started by addressing her former colleague and friend by name before not mentioning him again. Holly said: "Firstly, are you OK? I hope so. It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil. And I imagine that you might have been 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."

During interviews last week, Phillip told The Sun and the BBC that Holly did not know about the "unwise, but not illegal" affair with a much younger ITV colleague, and has apologised for lying to her.

Dressed in a sleeveless white buttoned dress, mum-of-three Holly continued: "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."

Holly started the first This Morning of the week with a statement (ITV)

Holly then thanked viewers for their support, saying: "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 heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning.

"Myself, Josie, Dermot (O’Leary), Alison (Hammond), Craig (Doyle), and every single person that works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you that, this show that we love."

While many This Morning viewers reacted to Holly's statement, others turned there attention to Josie and claimed they felt 'sorry' for her. @MadameMinge tweeted: "I think all the viewers can agree on one thing; Poor Josie… #thismorning."

Josie supported Holly as she gave her statement (ITV)

@DebsGlynm commented: "Poor Josie, being dragged into this s**t storm… #ThisMorning." @leeleeCThomas added: "Josie should be allowed to step up as a full time presenter. I feel bad they’ve dragged her into this because she deserves better. It’ll be interesting to see how other presenters are around Holly #ThisMorning."

Others, however, were quick to praise the new pairing. @johnlennonsboot said: "Statement aside...I genuinely love the Holly/Josie pairing. There. I've said it #thismorning." @jaynees64 shared: "Good to see #holly back on #thismorning and with #josie what a fab combination. Please keep it."

@PixelvertGames asked: "Can Holly and Josie become a fixed presenting duo please?! #ThisMorning." @gemhill posted: "Well done Holly & Josie, fab duo - let’s see more of Josie in future!! #thismorning." @selz_j added: "I love this pairing of Holly and Josie, it's all I wanted #ThisMorning."

Meanwhile, some couldn't help but compare the two to Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon in their programme The Morning Show in which they play the co-anchors of a popular morning news programme.

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