Josie Gibson shows her support for emotional Holly Willoughby with big hug

Josie Gibson showed her support for emotional Holly Willoughby with a big hug after host addressed the Phillip Schofield scandal.

Holly, 42, returned to the show after a two-week break and opened the episode on Monday with an emotional monologue about her former best friend. 

She said it ‘feels very strange indeed’ to be on the show without Schofield, adding that the team ‘gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth’.

Holly was back on the sofa today for the first time since Schofield’s departure on May 26 as she appeared emotional alongside co-presenter Josie.

Holly said: ‘Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you ok? I hope so.’

Tears: Holly looked visibly emotional as she addressed the cameras with a monologue about her former best friend Phillip

She stated 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’.

She added: ‘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 day.’

Minutes earlier, she had appeared in a videolink on Lorraine before the show to talk about what was coming up, as controversy in the wake of Schofield’s exit continued. 

Friends of Phillip had said he would not tune in to watch Holly’s return to the sofa as it would be too ‘triggering’ for him, especially the opening credits.

It comes after Phillip said he ‘didn’t tell anybody’ about his affair with his former This Morning colleague, confirming in a tell-all interview with BBC’s Amol Rajan that Willoughby ‘did not know’.

TV presenter Phillip spoke to the BBC’s Amol Rajan last week about his affair with a much younger colleague

Firm friends: Holly and Josie held hands before hugging one another during the difficult opener on This Morning 

Watch this space: Holly appeared in a videolink on Lorraine today before the show with Josie Gibson

Similarly, in his interview with the Sun, the 61-year-old presenter apologised to Holly for lying to her about his relationship, saying: ‘I’ve lost my best friend.’

He added: ‘I let her (Holly) down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.

‘Holly did not know (about the affair) and she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say: ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.

‘She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply as well. So, yeah, if anyone is in any way linking Holly to this, that is -absolutely, wholly untrue.’

The duo, who had presented the show together since 2009 and also co-hosted Dancing On Ice before Schofield resigned from ITV, had been open about their close friendship over the years.

Willoughby’s return comes as the ITV show has been plagued by allegations of ‘toxicity’, including from former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes who has alleged there was a ‘total cover-up’ over the Schofield affair.

On her way: Holly arrived to film This Morning at Television Centre in White City ahead of the show

The calm before the storm: Phillip and Holly on the sofa of ITV’s This Morning last month, on May 11 

Family: Phillip with his wife Stephanie Lowe and daughters Molly and Ruby in London in 2018

The show’s former resident doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, also hit out at a ‘toxic’ culture, saying he raised concerns about ‘bullying and discrimination’ two years ago when he worked there and afterwards felt like he was ‘managed out’ for whistleblowing.

In a letter from ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall to Parliament on Wednesday, she said an external review conducted following a complaint made by Dr Ranj found ‘no evidence of bullying or discrimination’.

Meanwhile, former This Morning head of news Emily Maddick, who worked on the show from September to December 2019, claimed she quit the programme due to ‘bullying, sexism and a toxic culture of fear and intimidation’.

On Saturday, This Morning editor Frizell told a Sky News reporter to ‘read between the lines’ amid claims of toxicity, adding: ‘I think there’s some scores being settled.’

Dame Carolyn 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.

Last Wednesday, she confirmed the broadcaster had instructed barrister Jane Mulcahy KC of Blackstone Chambers to carry out an external review of the facts.