Holly Willoughby admitted to being 'shaken' and 'troubled' by the scandal surrounding her now former co-host Phillip Schofield as she made her return to This Morning on Monday.
It's now been two weeks since Phillip took to Instagram to reveal that he was quitting the ITV show after 21 years, telling fans he fully acknowledged things 'couldn't go on' as they were, with all the speculation surrounding him and reports of a 'feud' with Holly.
After assuring viewers that he would be back to host this year's Soap Awards, with ITV bosses saying they were looking forward to working on him on another primetime series, Phillip then released a bombshell statement in which he admitted to having an affair with a much younger This Morning colleague.
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Describing it as an 'unwise but not illegal' relationship. Phillip apologised to lying to other ITV staff members, his lawyers, his agents and his family and left the broadcaster with immediate effect.
Having reacted to that statement a day later with a brief Instagram post, having previously declared that the This Morning sofa 'would never be the same,' Holly returned to the programme for the first time in two weeks on Monday and opened proceedings with a statement addressing the situation.
In her speech, Holly said it felt 'very strange' to be sitting there without Phil, adding: "I imagine you might be feeling a lot like I am, shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the well being of people on both sides of what's being going on. Full of questions.
"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 like they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career they loved."
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