HOLLY WILLOUGHBY FEELS 'SHAKEN, TROUBLED AND LET DOWN' BY PHILLIP SCHOFIELD SCANDAL

Holly Willoughby revealed she is feeling "shaken, troubled (and) let down" over Phillip Schofield's scandal as she returned to This Morning on Monday.

The 61-year-old TV personality stepped down from This Morning after more than 20 years in mid-May, and he later confessed to having an affair with a much younger male employee and resigned from ITV altogether.

Holly, who has been on an extended break from This Morning throughout the controversy, addressed her longtime co-host's scandal as she returned to the show on Monday.

"It feels very strange indeed here sitting without Phil. 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," she 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. 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 the desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone."

Holly thanked viewers for "all of your kind messages" and assured them that everyone at This Morning will continue to "work hard" every day to create the show "that we love". She expressed her hope that Monday marked the start of a new chapter for the daytime programme and that it would soon return to "a place of warmth and magic".

She was joined by Josie Gibson, who hugged her following her emotional monologue.

Last week, Phillip, who had co-hosted the show with Holly since 2009, insisted that she had no idea about his affair with a runner. Speaking to The Sun, Phillip explained that there was "no feud" between them but she distanced herself from the friendship after his brother, Timothy Schofield, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child in April.

2023-06-05T10:02:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd