Holly Willoughby is set to address the Phillip Schofield affair scandal when she returns to This Morning hosting duties on Monday.
The veteran TV star, who admitted to an affair with a much younger male colleague while still married to his wife, has lost his high-profile job on This Morning, his lucrative contract with ITV and his talent representation.
Holly has been absent from our screens for the past two weeks in an early holiday from presenting the ITV magazine programme before the fallout of her former co-host's affair ensued.
The pair last presented This Morning together on Thursday, May 18; which ultimately became Phillip's final show as he announced he was stepping down from This Morning after rumours of a feud between them dominated headlines.
Phillip has also been dropped by his talent agency YMU, which his daughter Molly works for and he has been with for 35 years.
On Monday, Holly will co-host This Morning alongside Josie Gibson following her break in Portugal while the scandal over Phillip's admission of his affair with the young male show runner continued to boil over.
It is reported that the mum-of-three has decided to address the situation with her former best friend's revelations and will speak about it in an "honest and open" way.
A TV source told The Sun : "Holly wants to address Phillip’s recent admissions about his affair.
"She will be honest and open, mentioning him by name. She’s not shying away from the tricky subject as she wants to show up for the viewers and loyal fans.
"She has thought about what she will say and written it in advance, taking her time to get the words right. It’s not something she’s being forced to do.
"It won’t be an easy moment for her, and she knows she could get emotional, but she thinks it’s the right thing to do and wants to speak about it in an honest way."
Speaking in two new emotional interviews, Phillip said that he texted Holly at the time that the scandal broke but he has received no reply.
This week Schofield said he was afraid to leave the house and feared he would be spat on in the street in a new interview with the Sun newspaper.
He said: "I don't have any spirit. My friends tell me, 'It will get better'. It won't. Not now. Not this one.
"I am getting by hour by hour. I have got my girls and my friends."
He previously said he had "lost everything" after admitting to the affair, and that the fallout had had a "catastrophic effect" on his mind during a broadcast interview with BBC's Amol Rajan.
Phil, who said he was "utterly broken and ashamed" but denied he had "groomed" the younger man, praised his daughters Ruby and Molly for "guarding him".
"Last week, if my daughters hadn't been there then I wouldn't be here. And they've guarded me and won't let me out of their sight, it's like a weird numbness," he said.
During the BBC interview, Phil also spoke about his friend and This Morning co-presenter Holly, confirming she knew nothing of the affair.
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