Holly Willoughby is back on ITV's This Morning after a lengthy absence. The presenter returned to the daytime show alongside Phillip Schofield on Wednesday, March 23 after more than a week and a half off following a positive Covid-19 test.
"It's so nice to be back," Holly told This Morning viewers as she said hello to her friend and co-host. "I literally feel like I've been gone forever," she continued, before telling Phil: "I've watched loads of you, I feel like you've been in my house with me the whole time, it's been so nice to have you."
"Isn't it the weirdest and most horrible thing to watch it all going on without you," Phil responded as he referenced his own self-isolation period that saw him miss both This Morning and Dancing On Ice last month.
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He then asked Holly how she was doing, to which the 41-year-old responded: "I had 48 hours of feeling really rubbish, sort of just in bed, head on the pillow, headache all that kind of stuff and then after that, I just felt like I had a bit of a cold, a bit rubbish. I'm absolutely fine now."
Speaking about her self-isolation period, Holly said she had been waiting for a negative lateral flow test, explaining: "It was just waiting for that line to go. Every morning, it's like the worst advent calendar in the world." Phil responded: "Now the present box has finally been opened. It's so nice to see you!"
Holly went on to explain the last time she had seen Phil was during the security alert which saw This Morning abruptly taken off the air and replaced with an emergency episode on Thursday, March 10. You can read more about this here.
A few days later ITV announced Phil would be presenting the Dancing On Ice semi-finals solo on Sunday, March 13 after Holly tested positive for Covid-19. A statement from ITV read at the time: "Unfortunately, Holly Willoughby is unable to host tonight's show after testing positive for Covid-19. We look forward to Holly returning for the Dancing on Ice Live Final."
And it's safe to say ITV viewers were all delighted to see Holly back on screens, with one writing: "Glad to see you back looking as gorgeous and beautiful as ever Holly Willoughby." While another added: Glad your back on @thismorning I am so happy @hollywills."
And a third said: "Great to see you back." As a fourth agreed: "Glad your better and back now." For more showbiz and television stories, get our newsletter here.
