The past year has thrown a wave of professional and personal challenges at Holly Willoughby, but she has hit the ground running in 2024 following a brief hiatus. And, as her career undergoes a resurgence on Dancing On Ice, Holly’s social life has also ramped up again, with the presenter sharing updates on social media with her 8.5million followers.
Last weekend, Holly enjoyed an evening out with fellow TV star Rylan Clark and The Traitors victor Harry Clark, declaring herself to be “100 per cent faithful” in a nod to the hit BBC show.
And, after Rylan, 35, shared a rare selfie of him and Holly teasing an upcoming project (he wrote over the snap, “Coming soon… #justice”), it seems revenge is a dish best served with alcohol, as we’re told that the presenters are keen to spend more time together now Holly’s former best friend Phillip Schofield is out of the picture.
“When Holly was at her closest with Phil, she always had to hang around with people approved by him, and he didn’t like it if she got close to any of his rivals,” we’re told.
“Yes, she had lots of fun, but looking back it was only with people whom Phil liked and didn’t mind Holly getting close to.”
Phillip infamously resigned from his roles at ITV last May after he admitted to lying about an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger colleague, a scandal that Holly denied knowing about prior to its emergence in the press. The former golden duo once had what was thought to be an indestructible friendship, which not only played out in front of the This Morning cameras, but also on shared family holidays and raucous nights out.
At the height of the scandal, Rylan – who is close friends with Phil’s former rivals Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes – appeared to take a swipe at the presenter, cryptically referring to people in the industry who “weren’t nice”, adding, “walls are starting to fall”. He appeared to elaborate further back in September, saying, “Work hard, be decent to everybody, and be nice to everyone on the way up.”
Our source says, “It’s well-known that Phil felt threatened by Rylan, and Rylan wasn’t exactly discreet with his feelings about Phil. But Holly and Rylan have been in contact a lot recently and their night out was hopefully be the first of many. This is the start of her big reinvention – she wants to prove she’s a bigger star without Phil. Holly had such a good time with Rylan and it made her think that she’s been missing out on a lot.”
And following Holly’s social-circle expansion and rumours she’s eyeing up opportunities in America, we’re told that she is regaining a sense of control.
“She’s growing in confidence again after an awful few months and she’s considering lots more offers that come her way,” says the source.
“This includes opportunities in the US – something she would never have dreamt of when she was working with Phil because she was worried about how he’d react. Holly has no intention of moving to Hollywood, but now the kids [Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester, nine] are older, she could definitely spend more time out there, especially as Dan [Baldwin, her husband] has a lot of contacts.”
The insider adds, “For a while, she thought Phil was holding her back, but now there’s nothing stopping her.”