Holly Willoughby has taken a two-month break from This Morning after a somewhat unceremonious exit from the show on Thursday (6 July).
The presenter, 42, will take her scheduled summer break from ITV’s embattled daytime show until September, as the schools also prepare to break for the summer. Her exact return date is yet to be confirmed.
Thursday marked Willoughby’s last show before the break, with the presenter failing to acknowledge that she wouldn’t be back until September as she signed off the episode as normal.
Friday’s (7 July) show was instead presented by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, who usually present the show on the final day of the week. The pair will also cover for Willoughby for the rest of the summer.
A source told The Sun that the presenter was simply taking her “usual and planned break over the summer”.
The Independent has contacted Willoughby’s representatives for comment.
The Dancing on Ice host has been presenting ITV’s daily show with Craig Doyle for the last two weeks, following the departure of Phillip Schofield from This Morning.
Willoughby’s long-time co-host resigned from ITV in May after admitting to lying about an affair with a This Morning colleague.
Willoughby had been co-hosting with Craig Doyle— (ITV)
Schofield, 61, quit the show a week before following reports of a feud between himself and Willoughby.
A week later, however, Schofield shared a statement in which he said he lied about an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a colleague. He was dropped by his agent and resigned from ITV, with bosses at the network saying they were “badly let down” by the presenter.
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Schofield said in a later interview that his co-host and friend had been unaware of the affair, with Willoughby saying she felt “shaken, troubled, let down, and worried” as she returned to This Morning on 5 June.
“You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth,” she said. “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.
“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. 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.”
