Vanessa Feltz close to tears This Morning over Holly Willoughby's sudden exit
Vanessa Feltz was close to tears over Holly Willoughby's sudden announcement that she had quit This Morning.
The 61-year-old appeared on the ITV show as a guest as she spoke about her friend Holly's departure as she hailed her as "loveable" and "golden-hearted". She also referred to the alleged plot to kidnap and murder her, describing it as "unthinkable" and said that it was "understandable" that she had stepped down as "family is everything" to her.
Holly shocked fans on Tuesday when she announced her decision to quit This Morning after 14 years of presenting the show. The TV star shared her decision in a statement on her Instagram page, explaining that she felt that she had to make the decision for herself and her family.
Reacting to the news on This Morning, Vanessa said: "I really would just like to say that Holly is - people love her because she's loveable, but I know people often wonder, 'What is she really like? Can anyone really be that pretty, that lovely, like a Disney princess to look at? Can anyone be that sweet, really?' I mean, I've worked with her, I'm very proud to call her a friend for 14 years and she is through and through a golden-hearted, sweet, funny, extremely bright - don't be fooled by that pretty face to think there's nothing behind the eyes - bright, clever, intuitive, incisive, fabulous person, she's a wonderful person. You can see that family is her absolute everything and when somebody is rocked to the core by a threat of pure evil upon their actual life - my goodness, it's like one of the worst things in a movie."
Holly Willoughby has quit This Morning (Getty Images)
She announced the news in an Instagram statement (Instagram/@hollywilloughby)Choking up, Vanessa continued: "It's unbelievable and it's really happened and you can see why she's made the decision that she's made. But it will have been so incredibly hard for her. And it's going to be so incredibly hard for all of us because we'll miss her and she's just a ray of sunshine and a wonderful person. I wish her all the best and most particularly love and safety to all her family."
Earlier on in the show hosts Craig Doyle and Rochelle Humes sent their best wishes to Holly. Craig said: "We just loved working with Holly and we're all really sad and are gonna miss her." Rochelle said she would "always be one of us", before Craig said "the show must go on". The normal titles of the show were changed too in a tribute to the host, with messages such as "family first", "we will miss you" and "goodbye Holly".
Holly's full Instagram post read: "I have let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning. To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so so much. This such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we've done together. Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive. To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you. Most of all, thank you to the wonderful viewers. You've been loyal, so supportive and the very best company every day.
"Richard and Judy said, 'We only look after this show, it will always belong to the viewers.' It's been an honour to just be part of it's story and I know this story has many chapters left to go. Sadly, however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family. I will miss you all so much. Holly."
*This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV
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