Josie Gibson has won the praise of This Morning viewers after joining Holly Willoughby on the sofa today (June 5). All eyes were on Holly this morning as she returned to the show following a break and a few weeks of dramatic headlines.
Holly's break came after her co-star Phillip Schofield, 61, announced his departure from the show last month, and subsequently revealed that he had engaged in an affair with a much younger ITV colleague, then aged around 20. Phillip had met the young man when he was still at school, aged 15, with the long-time This Morning presenter then finding him some work experience on the show after he entered adulthood.
After Phil's statement about his "unwise but not illegal" relationship with the young man, Holly, 42, gave her side of the story to her Instagram followers, claiming that she had asked her former colleague "directly" if the affair had happened when "reports of the relationship first surfaced". "It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie," Holly wrote.
As she returned to This Morning today, Holly opened the show with a statement, in which she revealed that she felt "shaken, troubled, let down and worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides". After reading out her prepared statement, Holly was comforted by her Bristolian co-presenter Josie Gibson, 38, who gave her a hug and reassured her.
The pair quickly moved on, delivering This Morning as normal to viewers, who had been desperately awaiting Holly's return to the show. Whilst Holly's reappearance divided some fans, Josie proved to be a big hit as a Phil replacement, with many praising her presenting skills on social media.
Nina Cole wrote on Twitter: "Absolutely love Josie Gibson and may even start watching again!"
"Well done @hollywills It was obvious you were nervous & this whole situation has been upsetting for you," tweeted MGiles. "@Josiestweet is a perfect partner. Good luck. #ThisMorning #HollyWilloughby"
"Love Josie Gibson!" said James Dawson. "She's the best of them all."
Lulu Mccoy tweeted: "Josie Gibson taking the lead. Goodness me, she's a Marvell."
Holly's return to the show comes after Phil's bombshell interviews with the BBC and The Sun last week, during which he detailed his relationship with the unnamed ITV employee. Meanwhile, This Morning'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."
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