THIS Morning viewers were close to tears today as Holly Willoughby delivered a moving statement addressing Phillip Schofield's affair scandal.
On her first show for two weeks, Holly looked nervous and uncomfortable before launching into a speech on Phillip's affair with a younger male colleague that has cost him his ITV career.
One viewer said: "That was so hard for holly to do I was nearly in tears I'm so sorry for everyone at this morning its really hard holly dealt with that so well but I still do. Love Phil it's so sad and so sorry its come to this xxx."
Another wrote: "Holly Willoughby looks like she’s about to burst into tears."
A third said: "She's nearly crying bless her x."
Many others were less sympathetic and accused her of being inauthentic.
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Supported by co-star Josie Gibson, who sat beside her for reassurance, Holly inhaled deeply before delivering her monologue to camera.
She said: "Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you ok? I hope so.
"It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil and 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.
"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 they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved. That is a lot to process.
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"It's equally hard to see the toll it's taken on their own mental health. I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone. I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that the show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.
"And from the heart, can I just say thank you for all 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."
After finishing the speech, she was comforted by an emotional Josie who gave her friend a big hug.
The TV star has been absent from the set for the past two weeks — during which time her former pal Phillip, 61, came clean about his affair with a much younger ITV runner.
Phillip, who was married at the time, branded the relationship "unwise but not illegal".
He insisted to The Sun that Holly did not know about his affair.
He said: “I’ve lost my best friend. Holly did not know. And she was one of the first texts that I sent to say ‘I am so, so sorry, that I lied to you.’”
Phone-ins involving the public will be heavily vetted by production staff in the aftermath of the scandal to filter out any attempted viewer outbursts.
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And interaction segments where viewers send in pictures and social media posts are being paused to avoid the risk of any abuse being targeted at the presenters.
Later in the week, Holly will be joined by Irish presenter Craig Doyle, while Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary will be back for their usual slot on Friday.
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