Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield launch anti-bullying campaign on This Morning

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by Emma Dodds |
Updated on

Our favourite This Morning duo Phillip Schofield andHolly Willoughbyare taking anti-bullying matter into their own hands with new campaign "Be Kind"

The King and Queen of daytime telly always manage to make us feel good, whether it's a feel-good topic, something hilarious - or actually just watching them laugh at their own slip ups.

But Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are now using their power for even more good by launching an anti-bullying campaign on This Morning.

READ MORE: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield's funniest This Morning moments

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Phil and Holly were reduced to tears last month when they interviewed two mums of teenagers who had committed suicide (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

As more and more shocking news of teenage suicide comes to light, Phil and Hol have decided to launch the This Morning's Be Kind Campaign.

They are asking parents to pledge that they will show a campaign video of themselves asking children to be kinder to each other - you can view it on the This Morning site here.

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Lucy Alexander and Nicola Harteveld appeared on the show (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

Holly and Phil were reduced to tears last month in an interview with two mothers who have recently tragically lost their teenage children to suicide as a result of being bullied online.

Lucy Alexander, the mother of Felix Alexander, 17, and Nicola Harteveld, the mother of 14-year-old Megan Evans, opened up on This Morning about the devastating loss of their children who had both been bullied online by their peers.

READ MORE: Back to school discussion: 'My child is being bullied at school – what do I do?'READ MORE: Back to school discussion: 'My child is being bullied at school – what do I do?'

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Lucy opened up about the death of her son Felix who was hit by a train last April (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

Felix was hit by a train in April 2016 after being branded "the most hated boy in school". His mum Lucy wrote an open letter published in her local paper Worcester News, imploring with schoolchildren to "always be kind to each other".

She wrote: "His confidence and self-esteem had been eroded over a long period of time by the bullying behaviour he experienced in secondary education.

"People who had never even met Felix were abusing him over social media and he found that he was unable to make and keep friends."

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The 17-year-old was bullied mercilessly at school (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

Megan suffered a similar fate, having been the target of cyberbullying via the private messaging service Snapchat.

On the surface, Megan's mum Nicola said that her daughter seemed "completely normal", and that the extent of the bullying only came to light after her death on February 7 when the police looked through her phone.

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Holly struggled to hold back the tears (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

She too pleaded with schoolchildren to be kind to one another, saying to Mirror.co.uk: "Be careful what you say, words can't be taken back.

"They may seem trivial or may be said in anger or jest, but they can't be taken back. You don't know how that person will take it so be mindful of someone else's situation.

"I want everyone to remember there's always someone to talk to."

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Nicola's interview left many viewers in tears (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

This comes after This Morning was contacted by mum Jodie Rose after her four-year-old son Preston was bullied by other children about his World Book Day costume.

Speaking about the campaign, Phillip said: "I think the interviews we did with these poor mums will live with me forever. The stunned grief was heartbreaking.

"Two lovely young people who, because of bullying felt they had no other option but to take their lives and by doing so, destroy their families.

"If you're feeling like this, PLEASE talk to someone, share how you feel, there is always a solution if you open up. I'm 100% behind this campaign. I hope we can save young lives and show the bullies how catastrophic one tweet, one snapchat or one text can be."

READ MORE: Brave dad shares photos of daughter's last moments after online bullying drove her to suicideREAD MORE: Brave dad shares photos of daughter's last moments after online bullying drove her to suicide

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The two mums have come together to do good (Credit: ITV) ©ITV

Holly added: "We really want this to help children, their families, and even bullies themselves to realise what they are doing.

"It's fantastic that so many schools have already asked to show our interview to pupils. How much better would the world be if everyone was just that bit kinder to each other?"

The team are even hoping to help people today, as they have set up a hotline with a team of specialists for parents and victims to call.

If you feel as thought you'd like to talk to them, the number is 08000 304044, or you can email thismorning@itv.com.

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