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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

Phillip Schofield gets champagne welcome and is serenaded by Holly Willoughby at ITV This Morning ahead of big birthday

Phillip Schofield was given a grand welcome as he headed into his last day at work on This Morning for the week. The presenter hosts the ITV daytime show alongside Holly Willoughby from Monday to Thursday before Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary take over at the end of the week.

However, Phillip and Holly are likely to be heading off for a little while as they usually take the Easter holidays off with Alison and Dermot stepping in full-time alongside a rota of the show's other hosts.

This means that they won't be on air when Schofe, from Oldham celebrates a milestone birthday on Friday (April 1) unlike when Holly turned the big 4-0 last year.

READ MORE: Holly Willoughby apologises as she's forced to dash off camera amid hot cross bun tasting on ITV This Morning

Instead, Phillip will be celebrating his 60th birthday off-screen on April Fool's Day and because of that, his This Morning colleagues pulled out all the stops a day early.

Taking to Instagram, the TV star shared a picture from backstage at the ITV studios where the dressing rooms are located. The hallways had been decked out with silver and gold balloons, lining the way to where he was set to get ready for Thursday's edition of the show.

"@thismorning have gone early on my birthday, thanks guys," Phillip wrote alongside the snap before sharing more of what the team, and Holly, had done in his dressing room.

Phillip had a birthday welcome at This Morning (Phillip Schofield Instagram)

A box of Pol Roger champagne was seen standing on his dressing table alongside two glasses ready for a celebratory cheers at some point as well as multiple packets of McVitie's ginger nut biscuits. Balloons could also be seeing poking out under the table.

There were also, of course, some gifts wrapped in brown wrapping paper with a few different cards. The front of one read: "Someone please call 9 wine wine," and another said: "Time doesn't change you," with Phillip tagging Holly as well as stylist David O'Brien, makeup artists Patsy O'Neill and Suzie Narden indicating that's who the pressies were from.

There was champagne and gifts waiting for the host (Phillip Schofield Instagram)

But what birthday would be complete without a cake and a singsong. Holly shared a video of her co-host being presented with a sprinkle-covered cake with burning candles on top ready to be blown out as she and some of the crew gave a rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.

Across the video, Holly placed a gif which read 'I love you' as her co-star and best pal smiled along before she finished off the song solo with: "And many more," alongside cheers and applause from the small backstage team.

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