03 June 2023 , 05:28
1161
0
Holly Willoughby is said to be feeling sad about the fact her former This Morning co-host Phillip Schofield has been suffering following the explosive fall out over his affair with a younger man.
The 42-year-old presenter shared the sofa with 61-year-old Phil for 13 years, joining ITV’s flagship daytime TV show in 2009 - and it is believed she will remain following Phil’s explosive exit last month.
After admitting that he lied about having an affair with a much younger man while married to his wife, Stephanie Lowe, Phil’s career is now in ruins and he gave a tearful interview to the BBC on Thursday.
And while Phil has won some degree of sympathy after he apologised to those he deceived as part of the interview, Holly herself is believed to have not picked up the phone to check on him.
Holly Willoughby is said to be 'saddened' to see Phillip Schofield giving a teary interview to the BBC (PA)
Phil's career imploded last month when an affair was exposed (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)A source told The Sun: “Holly has not spoken to Phil, but was saddened to see him like that.
Corrie's Sue Cleaver says I'm A Celebrity stint helped her to push boundaries
"Seeing Phil so downtrodden and in a bad way was distressing for a number of people who know him personally.
"There is a big team on This Morning and it was shocking for people to see him that way. It is an incredibly sad situation. Phil has his daughters and friends supporting him now.”
Holly' and Phil worked very closely for 13 years (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)As part of his BBC interview, Phil made a public apology to those impacted by the lies he told surrounding his affair.
He had previously insisted that Holly knew nothing about his affair with the man - who worked as a production assistant as part of the This Morning team.
Last month, Phil stepped forward to reveal he had in fact lied about having an affair as he tried to keep the details of his indiscretion under wraps.
And during an earlier interview with The Sun, he explained that he had messaged Holly to apologies to her directly about his affair - and explained that she didn’t reply.
Phil was interviewed by the BBC about his affair (BBC)For the past week, Holly and her family have been enjoying a sun soaked trip to Portugal, over a thousand miles away from the drama engulfing ITV.
She is expected to return to This Morning on Monday to host the show - while insiders have broken cover to say they don’t expect her to leave the show, despite the affair scandal.
The Daily Mail reports that bosses are expecting Holly to remain to ‘steady the ship’ as the continuity host.
However, they also report that the BBC is poised to offer her a career if she does decide to quit the daytime TV show.
Richard 'shuts up' GMB guest who says Hancock 'deserved' being called 'd***head'
Holly hosted the BBC's Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof last year (BBC)A BBC source told the publication that chief content officer Charlotte Moore is secretly hoping ITV will decide to give Holly the boot.
They said: “Holly will get bums on seats at home.
“She is popular with the very-much-sought-after 16-24 age group, too, which is a huge deal for all broadcasters.”