Tearful Holly Willoughby feels 'let down' by Schofield

Monday's episode of This Morning could in many ways be considered a success.

After a short statement from Holly Willoughby about the recent controversy surrounding her former co-star Phillip Schofield, the show largely continued as normal.

Any viewers who happened to tune in at 10:05 would never have known from watching the subsequent items about hay fever, holiday scams and BBQ king prawns that the episode had opened in such an unusually serious way.

The message to the audience - and to advertisers - was clear: This Morning is the same show it always has been and it isn't going anywhere.

But will viewers be convinced? Twitter uses who were watching, admittedly an unrepresentative platform, were sceptical of Willoughby and the sincerity of her statement.

If she wants to survive on the show, she will have to use the next few weeks to prove that she can both connect with viewers and build an authentic chemistry with the various guest hosts who will be standing in for Schofield.

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• ITV presenter Holly Willoughby returned to her hosting duties on This Morning after a turbulent two weeks for the show which saw her former co-host, Phillip Schofield, resigned from ITV after admitting he had an affair with a younger colleague
• On her return to the show Willoughby said she imagined viewers felt "shaken, troubled, let down", adding that "you, me, and all those at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth"
• Willoughby thanked co-host Josie Gibson for her support and promised to bring "warmth and magic" back, but confessed it felt strange to do it without Schofield
• Before the show kicked off today, This Morning editor Martin Frizell dismissed questions from reporters on allegations of toxicity at ITV, saying: "I'll tell you what's toxic and I've always found it toxic. Aubergine"
• An MP who sits on the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sports committee, called Frizell's response "deeply inappropriate and disrespectful"

Shortly after midday, Willoughby threw briefly to Ruth Langsford, who told viewers what's coming up on Loose Women at 12:30.

Langsford cheerily explained today's episode of the lunchtime panel show will feature discussions about wedding rings and a new social media exam scam.

Anton Du Beke and Leona Lewis are today's guests on Loose Women, Langsford added, before she threw back to Willoughby.

The exchange was so lovely and cordial that viewers might even have forgotten that Langsford's husband Eamonn Holmes recently described Willoughby as "false".

Funnily enough, this didn't come up during the Loose Women handover.

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One of the big questions remaining about This Morning is whether Willoughby herself will be able to survive the recent controversy and form a convincing partnership with a new co-star.

She had such great chemistry with Schofield - which is a hard thing to replicate - and ITV has not yet announced who will be his permanent replacement.

Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary and today's guest presenter Josie Gibson are all popular with viewers, but would any of them be able to recreate the rapport of Holly and Phil in the long term?

Many viewers think the answer is yes - Hammond in particular rose to the challenge earlier this year when she was standing in for Schofield while he took time out from the show.

But others think Willoughby, who has co-hosted This Morning since 2009, should follow Schofield out the door.

"Love Josie but missing Alison and Dermot," one viewer tweeted earlier. "Time for Holly to move on, the dynamics aren't right."

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Queen frontman Adam Lambert is appearing on the show now.

He is glammed up and chatting with Josie and Holly ahead of his show tonight at the Royal Albert Hall.

He said fans can expect "a lot of glitter" and joy.

He brings a breath of fresh air to the show, with the sounds of his new upbeat single leaving Holly's statement earlier far behind.

Lambert is performing at London Pride in July, "for me, being a gay man in media has been a really interesting journey," he says, but that there has been a big shift in acceptability and understanding.

"It's nice to be a part of the force that helps people open their minds."

Some viewers felt a little short changed by Willoughby's statement, asking on Twitter: "Is that it?"

Her speech was dispensed with in a matter of seconds, taking up only a fraction of the two-and-a-half hour programme.

But this is exactly what bosses will have wanted - a direct reference to the controversy, without it overshadowing the whole programme.

Other viewers said the statement felt strange, and not in keeping with the show's regular tone (which, of course, it wasn't).

Some were more sympathetic, writing: "Well done Holly, it was obvious you were nervous & this whole situation has been upsetting for you."

One person who won't have been watching is the man at the centre of the controversy, Willoughby's former co-star Phillip Schofield.

"He physically could not watch - he's not there yet," a source close to him told the Sun.

An ITV boss, Magnus Brooke, is due to appear in front of the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sports committee on Tuesday to discuss reforms to the laws governing public broadcasting, and may be asked about the ongoing controversy.

ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall has also been called to a parliamentary committee on 14 June to answer questions about the broadcaster's approach to safeguarding and complaint handling following Schofield's exit.

SNP MP John Nicolson, a former BBC journalist who sits on the committee and is also the SNP's culture spokesman, said on Twitter that recent events at ITV were a "cause for concern" and that he was looking forward to "getting some answers" from ITV bosses.

Read more here.

Phillip Schofield has previously denied accusations of toxicity at This Morning, insisting it is "the best show to work on".

Writing on Instagram last week, he accused critics of being the “same handful of people against me or the show who seem to have the largest voice”.

“In all the years I worked there, there was no toxicity," he added.

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Away from today's show, This Morning editor Martin Frizell has faced criticism over his "deeply inappropriate" response to allegations of toxicity at ITV.

Frizell was approached by Sky News ahead of Holly Willoughby's return to the show for the first time following Phillip Schofield's departure.

Asked about the culture on This Morning, he replied: "I'll tell you what's toxic and I've always found it toxic. Aubergine.

"Do you like aubergine? Do you? Do you like aubergine because I don't like aubergine. It's just a personal thing."

MP John Nicolson, a former BBC journalist who sits on the Commons' Culture, Media and Sports committee, tweeted: "This is a deeply inappropriate and disrespectful way to respond to questions about safeguarding vulnerable staff and bullying in the workplace at ITV."

With items on coping with hay fever, holiday scams, getting fit for summer, a recipe for BBQ king prawns and an interview with singer Adam Lambert, it's very much business as usual for This Morning, now Willoughby's statement is out of the way.

Her emotional opening speech doesn't seem to be overshadowing the rest of the programme. She and co-presenter Josie Gibson have cleanly and skilfully segued into the show's regular tone and content as they navigated between health tips and the newspaper review.

On Twitter, viewers seem to have some suspicions about her authenticity - but it's worth remembering that Twitter is by far the most cynical of all social media platforms.

Some users drew comparisons with the speech Jennifer Aniston's character gave in Apple TV's The Morning Show - which also had a storyline about a disgraced former presenter. Others compared Willoughby's tears to Matt Hancock's on Good Morning Britain in 2021.

One viewer recalled guest presenter Alison Hammond becoming emotional about Schofield last week, writing: "On Friday, I believed Alison and you could tell she was truly upset. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the same listening to Holly Willoughby this morning."

Another referred to Willoughby's almost angelic on-screen look. "If I was a cynical person, I'd say they've made a very conscious decision to dress Holly Willoughby in white for her big speech," he wrote.

Holly Willoughby is back hosting ITV's This Morning for the first time since her co-star Phillip Schofield quit.

In her opening remarks, she explains how strange it feels "sitting here without Phil".

Watch her remarks in full.

"Hi there, good morning, Josie, thank you for being here. Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so.

"Feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil. I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have - shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the well-being of people on all sides of what's been going on, and full of questions.

"You, me, and all of those 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 that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved.

"That is a lot to process, and it is 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 well-being 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. And from my heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning?

"Myself, Josie, Dermot, Alison and Craig, and every single person that works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love."

Though we can't show you This Morning, an ITV show, press play at the top of the page for our analysis, plus some clips from the programme.

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"I hope that as we start this new chapter, we get back to a place of warmth and magic," Holly tells viewers.

As she tears up Willoughby says she hopes the show can return to normality.

She's hugged by her co-host, Josie Gibson, and the show gets off to a start.

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Holly Willoughby makes her much anticipated return to the This Morning very shortly, taking her seat on the sofa alongside her temporary co-host Josie Gibson.

Stay with us as we bring you live updates on her expected statement in reaction to Phillip Schofield's exit.

On Friday, This Morning presenter Alison Hammond fought back tears as she discussed Phillip Schofield's departure.

Hammond said he had apologised and urged people not to judge his actions too harshly.

"I'm just finding it really painful because obviously I loved Phillip Schofield," she said.

Holly Willoughby will be presenting alongside Josie Gibson upon her return to This Morning later.

Gibson joined This Morning in 2019 as a competition announcer. She has co-hosted on several occasions as a relief presenter.

She found fame on reality show Big Brother in 2010, and has since appeared on several programmes, including Loose Women. She has also worked as a showbiz reporter for Channel 5 show OK! TV.

In 2021, Gibson filled in for for Willoughby on This Morning for the first time. It was later confirmed she would cover holidays for the programme.