Holly Willoughby began Monday's This Morning with a statement about Phillip Schofield, with one thing very noticeable - she never actually said his name, as some viewers accused her of throwing her former co-host 'under the bus.'
Holly is always off the ITV daytime show during the school holidays and had been scheduled to take a leave of absence during the May half term. However, in the immediate aftermath of Phillip announcing his This Morning departure, it was confirmed that Holly would be starting her break earlier that intended.
After Phillip broke the news he'd be walking away from the presenting job he'd held for 21 years, Holly spoke out to say the This Morning couch 'would never be the same,' but then, when Phillip admitted to having an affair with a much younger ITV colleague, Holly's tone changed as she issued a brief social media statement which read: "It's taken time to process yesterday's news.
"When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie."
With Phillip gone from ITV with immediate effect and Holly on holiday, Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary hosted This Morning for two weeks in a row, but, on Monday, it was time for Holly to make her return, as millions of viewers tuned into to see what she'd say.
They didn't have long to wait as Holly opened the show with a speech, in which she said she felt 'troubled' and 'let down' by what had gone on, adding: "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."
And what struck people watching at home was that, at no point, did Holly actually mention Phillip by name, with some going as far as saying she 'threw him under the bus,' with the things she said in her statement. Thinking just that, one viewer tweeted: "Im glad Holly Willoughby was never my friend, Phillip Schofield went straight under that bus," with a second reacting: "Absolutely dreadful, orchestrated statement. Holly made it all about herself and threw Phillip under the bus, seemingly to protect herself. A sad end to a friendship, and unless proven otherwise Phillip doesn't deserve this."
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