Holly Willoughby refuses to use Phillip's name as she fights tears on This Morning
06.06.2023 - 16:47
/ ok.co.uk
Holly Willoughby didn't use her former co-star Phillip Schofield 's name during a pre-prepared statement as she fought back tears after finally returning to This Morning. Holly, 42, was back on the hit daytime programme for the first time since her one-time close friend and colleague Phil, 61, exited the show after more than two decades.
Initially, reports of a "feud" between the pair swirled and it later emerged Phil had an affair with a younger male ITV employee. Mum-of-three Holly made her first on-screen appearance today, 5 June, since the news broke, kicking off Monday's This Morning with an emotional speech.
Sitting beside co-presenter Josie Gibson, 38, Holly said she felt "shaken, troubled, let down and worried" during the last few weeks of controversy. Referring to Phillip's lies about his affair on the show, Holly said: "We gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth." Sporting a classic white dress, Holly thanked Jodie for being there before looking directly into the camera to address viewers at home.
She asked: "Firstly, are you okay?" Naming Phil for the first and only time, Holly went on to say: "It feels very strange indeed, sitting here without Phil, and I imagine that you have all 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." Holly then began to talk about Phil in third person and didn't mention his name again in the rest of her statement.
She 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 such a way that they, themselves, felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a
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