Holly Willoughby to address Schofield scandal upon return

Holly Willoughby will issue a personal statement when she returns to This Morning on Monday after a two week absence.

The Sun reports that Holly will make a personal statement at the top of the show, addressing the scandal which has engulfed the daytime stalwart, which resulted in her co-host Phillip Schofield being forced out.

Schofield’s exit from This Morning and ITV came after his revelation about an affair with a young runner on the show. Willoughby and ITV management have come under fire for their claims that they knew nothing about the relationship, which was widely known in the television industry and prompted questioning from management three years ago, where both Schofield and the runner denied any affair.

A 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.”

Credit: The Sun

Holly co-hosted This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield for 14 years after first working together on Dancing On Ice. It is not known whether Holly will continue to front the reality show without Phillip when it returns to screens next January. Their friendship was widely speculated to have disintegrated over recent months after a number of on-air and off-air issues.

Regular contributor to the show and stand-in presenter Josie Gibson will present Monday’s edition of This Morning alongside Willoughby whose return ends wild speculation that she would not be back following the intense media coverage of the scandal.

Her long-term future at the show is seemingly not confirmed, with the Mirror newspaper reporting the BBC are interested in working with 42-year-old presenter.

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV, ITV X and STV.