Phillip Schofield‘s former co-host on This Morning Holly Willoughby returned to her role on the show on Monday, addressing Schofield’s highly publicised affair live on air.
Willoughby had been taking time off since Schofield was removed from the program on May 20 after admitting he had lied about an affair he had with a young male colleague on the show. Schofield had faced grooming allegations after it was reported that he originally met the young college when the man was only 15 years old.
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield had hosted This Morning together for 14 years.
“It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil, and I imagine you might have been feeling a lot like I have; shaken, troubled, let down, and worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s going on,” Willoughby began.
“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,” she said.
“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 concluded by saying that this is the start of a new chapter and thanked the audience for the kind messages she’d received.
Holly Willoughby initially took to her Instagram stories to break her silence about the situation following Schofield’s resignation and admission that he cheated on his wife with a young colleague.
“It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news,” the 42-year-old said.
“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.
“It’s been very hurtful to find out that this was a lie,” she wrote, signing off “Holly”.
Last week, Phillip Schofield sat down with British tabloid The Sun for a tell-all interview. During the interview, he denied all allegations of grooming and apologised deeply to Holly Willoughby.
“I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down,” he said.
“Holly did not know [about the relationship]. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.”
Schofield’s replacement is yet to be announced by the network.
(Image Source: ITV) / This Morning)
