It’s been an incredibly dramatic couple of months behind the scenes of This Morning, culminating in Phillip Schofield stepping down from the show just weeks after returning to work following his brother’s trial for child sex offences. And it’s all been too much for his co-host Holly Willoughby, who headed off for half-term early on a family getaway.
Having gone completely off-grid, we’re told that Holly, 42, is hoping that some time in the sun with her husband Dan Baldwin and children – Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester, eight – will help her to process everything that’s been going on at work.
“The last few weeks have been brutal and so emotionally draining, Holly’s a nervous wreck,” an insider tells heat.
“She’s switched off her phone, and has gone away to try and relax and heal from the stress of the past few weeks. She can’t face friends or colleagues right now, because her head is such a mess.”
While Phil’s statement – in which the presenter, 61, said, “I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future” – came as a shock to viewers, it seems his departure may have been a long time coming.
Our source explains, “Holly feels like she’s been living with a knot in her stomach for the last few weeks, knowing it had to happen. But when it did, it didn’t quite provide the relief she thought it would. Holly may have been the one to issue the ‘It’s me or Phil’ ultimatum to ITV that resulted in the very quick ending of the partnership, but it doesn’t mean she wasn’t affected. She may not have been the person who stepped down, but she’s still going through turmoil and is questioning everything in her life following the split from Phil.”
Not only has Holly and Phil’s iconic presenting partnership ended after 13 years, it’s also highly unlikely their once-close friendship will survive this blow. Their relationship is said to have become particularly strained after Holly felt blindsided by Timothy Schofield’s trial, having not been forewarned by Phil. The presenter’s 54-year-old brother was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child.
“As far as things with Phil go, Holly sent him a message last week. In essence, it was saying, ‘Let’s talk when the dust has settled’,” our source says.
“It’s too hard to try to figure out now. Holly was always able to separate the close relationship she had with Phil as a friend and the support they gave each other in their personal lives, and the working relationship that they had. Now, the working relationship has imploded, and she has no idea if there is still a personal relationship there.”
On top of all that, the insider adds that Holly isn’t even sure that she wants to return to This Morning and be the face of the show. “She needs space to figure out where she’s at,” we’re told.
“She has confessed that she’s thought about walking away. It’s been a horrific experience and she can’t imagine how she’s going to face going back and just continuing on This Morning as though nothing’s happened.”
The source continues, “She needs a little time to think over her options and figure out what she wants to do. She’s hoping that some time away having fun with her kids, plus some long beach walks and meditation, will help sort her head out.”