Holly Willoughby has returned to social media for the first time since Phillip Schofield’s explosive departure from This Morning.
The TV presenter, who was absent from the ITV morning show during the furore, returned to screens on Monday but has not shared a permanent post on her personal Instagram account since May 18.
On Tuesday she shared a photo of herself in the dress she will wear for the live broadcast, which she will host with Josie Gibson.
Sporting a floral Ghost dress and nude high heeled sandals, Willoughby can be seen smiling for the camera.
She captioned the post: “Morning Tuesday… see you on @thismorning at 10am with @josiegibson85… the wonderful @sarah.beeny joins us today to talk about her incredibly important and personal documentary.”
Willoughby’s return to the show on Monday was highly anticipated and marked her first on-screen appearance since Schofield left ITV following his revelation of an affair with a younger male colleague.
The episode was watched by an average of 839,000 viewers, the highest daily average for the show since the coronation bank holiday on May 8. It is also above the three-month average of 703,000.
The peak audience for Monday’s show – the highest number of viewers watching at any one time – was 1.6 million, nearly double the average for the whole programme.
During interviews last week, Schofield told the Sun and the BBC that Willoughby did not know about the “unwise, but not illegal” relationship, and has apologised for lying to her.
Seated next to Gibson, she said: “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.”
She continued: “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.
“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 wellbeing of everyone.”
A message to you, from Holly. pic.twitter.com/TwiqxbSwSn
— This Morning (@thismorning) June 5, 2023
Schofield has spoken about the toll the fallout from the scandal has had on his mental health, telling the Sun it has had a “catastrophic effect” on his mind and he is currently getting by “hour by hour”.
In a statement she wrote herself, Willoughby thanked viewers for their support, saying: “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 (O’Leary), Alison (Hammond), Craig (Doyle), and every single person that works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you that, this show that we love.”
Willoughby has previously revealed how hurt she was by Schofield’s actions in a statement on her Instagram story, saying: “When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
Former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes and the show’s former resident doctor Dr Ranj Singh have both separately made allegations about the culture behind the scenes at the programme in the wake of Schofield’s departure.
ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall has been called to a parliamentary committee on June 14 to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling following Schofield’s exit.