Holly Willoughby addresses Phillip Schofield drama on her first day back on This Morning

Holly Willoughby has addressed the Phillip Schofield drama as the presenter returned to host ITV's This Morning with a new co-host.

Holly Willoughby has not appeared on This Morning for the past few weeks as she took a break for half term with her children. However, on Monday, June 5, Holly Willoughby returned to the show as she addressed the Phillip Schofield controversy that has been taking place over the last month.  

At the beginning of the show, Holly began by addressing the scandal and talking about being 'troubled.' She began by saying, "Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you okay? I hope so, feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil," began Holly. "I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have - shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on, and full of questions."

Holly then said, "You, me, and all of us 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."

She then seemed to touch on Phillip's recent confession that he was considering taking his own life following this scandal. "And 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 well-being of everyone," she said.

Holly looked towards the future as she said, "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, 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," she concluded.

ITV had maintained that Holly would be returning to presenting the show on June 5, but some commentators had speculated that she would not be returning to the couch without Phillip. 

On May 30, Eamonn Holmes gave an exclusive video interview to GB News when he said he didn't believe that Holly Willoughby would be returning to the show. Eammon said, "Not only should Phillip go but Holly should follow him out the door. I don’t think you’ll ever see Holly back on the couch again. It’s not about protecting the young fella involved, it’s about brand protection with her, her company, and advertising deals which looks like she’s distancing herself from to protect herself."