Morninggate - Daily Mail: Holly Willoughby returns to This Morning after Phillip Schofield exit

Story from Daily Mail:

A tearful Holly Willoughby returned to This Morning today and immediately put the boot into Phillip Schofield.

Holly admitted she felt 'shaken, troubled' and 'let down' after her disgraced former co-host lied to her and ITV colleagues over his affair with a younger man who worked on the show.

The star, 42, hugged co-host Josie Gibson and held her hand as she said it 'feels very strange indeed' to be on the show without Schofield, briefly calling him 'Phil' before moving on.

And in a brutal put down for Schofield, 61, she said that the This Morning team 'gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth'.

She referenced his younger lover, who has left ITV where he was a successful studio runner and was last seen working in a pub, saying she was 'worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what's been going on'.

She also confirmed that she wanted to stay on the show amid rumours that her role could be under threat.

‘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,' she said.

'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.'

Ms Willoughby was said to be nervous ahead of the show and she opened it with a statement she wrote herself.

Wearing white, Ms Willoughby clutched Josie's hand and said: 'Josie, thank you for being here. Right, deep breath. 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.

‘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.'

She was returning after a two-week break following her former co-host's departure and his subsequent revelation of an affair with a younger ITV male employee.

Willoughby and This Morning editor Martin Frizell were earlier photographed arriving separately at Television Centre in White City. 

It comes after Schofield said he 'didn't tell anybody' about his affair with his former This Morning colleague, confirming in an interview with the BBC that Ms Willoughby 'did not know'.

Similarly, in his interview with the Sun, the 61-year-old presenter apologised to Ms Willoughby for lying to her about his relationship, saying: 'I've lost my best friend.'

He added: 'I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.

'Holly did not know and she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say: "I am so, so sorry that I lied to you".

'She didn't reply and I understand why she didn't reply as well. So, yeah, if anyone is in any way linking Holly to this, that is absolutely, wholly untrue.'

The duo, had presented the show together since 2009 and also co-hosted Dancing On Ice.

Ms Willoughby's return comes as the ITV show has been plagued by allegations of 'toxicity', including from former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes who has alleged there was a 'total cover-up' over the Schofield affair.

Lorraine Heggessey, a former BBC1 controller, said: They're all under the spotlight. They've lost a friend or colleague, and the whole ethos of the programme is under pressure. It's very tricky.'