Eamonn Holmes has insisted Holly Willoughby won’t be returning to the This Morning sofa following Phillip Schofield’s bombshell confession revealing his affair.
Schofield has resigned from ITV after admitting to lying about an affair with a much younger man who worked as a runner on the show.
The young runner, who has not been named, was 15 when they met, with Schofield insisting the situation was ‘unwise but not illegal’.
Schofield apologised to his wife of 30 years for lying about the relationship, as well as his colleagues and ITV, given that it took place while they were married and before he came out as gay in 2020.
Speaking out for the first time after his announcement, Holly, 42, said it was ‘hurtful’ for her to hear after being ‘lied’ to about the affair.
She said, in full: ‘It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news. 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. Holly.’
While she remains on an early half term break from This Morning until Monday, June 5, speculation has swirled over whether she will actually return.
And now, Eamonn has weighed in during a shocking tell-all interview with GB News’ Dan Wootton.
‘Not only should Phillip go, but Holly should follow him close out the door,’ he said.
The 63-year-old added: ‘I don’t think you’ll ever see Holly Willoughby back on the couch.’
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He added: ‘Financial experts will say it’s about brand protection with her.
‘She’s got her company and she’s got advertising deals.’
This comes after reports that Holly ‘wants to stay at This Morning for as long as possible’.
A source told The Mirror: ‘Holly wants to stay at This Morning as long as she can, and hopes to ride out the scandal.
‘Other stars like Stephen Mulhern are being approached to fill in for Phil when she returns. Some are reluctant to go in and face angry viewers.’
They added: ‘Holly is determined to stay put – the only reason she would leave now is if This Morning is axed. She has absolutely no plans to leave.’
Dan Wootton Tonight airs weekdays from 9pm on GB News, This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.
Phillip Schofield statement in full
‘I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
‘The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
‘Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
‘When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody “forced” me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me. In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.
‘But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
‘I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
‘I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
‘I will reflect on my very bad judgment in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it. To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so.
‘I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.’
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