Dermot O'Leary was left having to apologise to Holly Willoughby just seconds into their latest appearance on This Morning. The pair were back at the helm of the daytime show on Wednesday (June 14) just as the boss of ITV faced questions about the recent Phillip Schofield scandal.
It has been revealed that Schofield is undergoing counselling, funding by ITV, after he requested the help after he resigned from ITV and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague.
A week before he admitted to the rumoured relationship, Schofield, 61, stepped back as host of This Morning after rumours of a 'feud' between him and co-host Holly behind the scenes hit the headlines. He later stepped back from ITV altogether after he admitted to lying to Holly, his employers, and others about his affair with the young man.
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Holly, 42, has since addressed viewers, after extending her planned half-term break amid the news on Schofield's exit and affair, saying she was "shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what's been going on, and full of questions."
She added: "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 who themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career they loved. That is a lot to process and it's equally hard to see the toll that it has taken on their own mental health."
But as Dame Carolyn McCall, chief executive of ITV, faced questions from MPs alongside ITV managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel and company secretary Kyla Mullins about Schofield's exit during Wednesday morning’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee session in Parliament, Holly and Dermot carried on as normal.
And it seems the latter presenter and radio star may have gotten a little overexcited as he accidentally gave Holly pins and needles after high-fiving her a little too hard. Introducing the midweek edition of the popular show, the presenters high-fived each other, prompting Holly to say: "Not as hard as you did last time."
She then explained to viewers: "He just high-fived me after our Lorraine link and I had pins and needles in my hand!" Defending himself, Dermot, who usually hosts the programme on a Friday with Alison Hammond, said: "I was excited! It was the final link, I was excited by it!"
The 50-year-old then added: "I'm sorry it was a hard high five. It was a 90s high five, wasn't it? Not acceptable nowadays," prompting some giggles from his co-host. "It's ok," Holly said before the pair high-fived again.
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