Holly Willoughby marked her return to This Morning on Monday with an emotional statement addressing the fallout with her former co-star of 13 years, Phillip Schofield.
According to a PR expert, Holly faced "intense scrutiny" after disgraced Phillip revealed details of his "unwise but not illegal" affair with a much younger ITV colleague on Friday.
Seated alongside presenter Josie Gibson, who has replaced Phil for now, Holly admitted she had been left "shaken, troubled, let down and worried" amid the scandal.
Mark Borkowski, PR guru of Borkowski agency, gives credit to the 'nervous' 42-year-old for addressing the upset 'head-on' and likens her soft 'theatrical' approach to that of Meghan Markle.
Holly began her speech with a "deep breath" before checking in with viewers.
"It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil," she began.
"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."
Dressed in a sleeveless white buttoned dress, Willoughby 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 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."
Finishing off her statement, the mum-of-three thanked viewers for their support, adding: "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.
"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."
In response, Mark told the Mirror: "Questions remain about just how Holly could have remained unaware of a liaison that was almost common knowledge in ITV circles and happening under her nose.
"Of course, she was never going to answer that question directly on her return to This Morning - that would be a zero-sum game - but she did address the scandal head-on, signalling her confession in advance of the show's airing in order to cushion the landing.
"Seeming genuinely nervous, Holly rattled off her key messages in a theatrical, Meghan Markle-esque semi-whisper: she's been shocked by the scandal, Phillip let her down, but she hopes he's okay, 'now let's get on with the show and never speak of this again'.
"It was performative but effective, and, though it won't put this issue to bed completely, it may just signal that Holly has the strength and self-assurance to power through this scandal... assuming no further damaging revelations come to light."
In interviews last week with The Sun and BBC, Phillip, 61, confirmed that Holly did not know about the affair, and has apologised for lying to her.
She apparently did not respond to his latest text message to try and make things right.
In the following hours after his revelation, Holly took to Instagram to express how "hurt" she was amid the news.
"When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not," she shared.
"It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie."
Phillip revealed last week just how detrimental the turmoil had been for his mental health, telling The Sun it has had a "catastrophic effect" on his mind and he is getting by "hour by hour".
An overnight report in The Sun suggested Schofield indicated he would watch Willoughby's return to screen, with a friend telling the publication he "physically could not watch - he's not there yet".
