Fans were worried when they spotted that Holly Willoughby was absent from ITV’s This Morning, with Ruth Langford standing in for her.

And now it has been confirmed that the mum-of-three decided to take the day off so that she could take her 19-month-old son, Chester, to hospital.

Phillip Schofield reassured viewers that Holly’s little boy would be fine, although he would require stitches after a particularly nasty tumble over the weekend.

He said: “Ruth is standing in today and before I go any further with this story, he’s alright…”

Phil, who is close friends with Holly away from the This Morning couch, continued: “Chester, her youngest son, yesterday fell over and banged his head, and he has a very nasty cut on his head.

“Today, he has to go back into hospital and they’re going to put some stitches in it, so that is where she is.

“But he’s absolutely fine and he was playing afterwards.”

Ruth added: “She obviously wants to be with him today, so we hope all goes well Holly.”

Holly Willoughby - who is also a mum to 5-year-old Belle and young son Harry - later took to Instagram to thank her fans for their well wishes.

Sharing a picture of her little lad in a hospital gown, she wrote: "Thank you for all the lovely kind messages. Chester is just fine and was definitely the bravest out of all of us.

"He received brilliant care from everyone at the #Chelseaandwestminster hospital.

"Makes you realise again how lucky we are to have such a wonderful #nhs."

We wish Chester a speedy recovery - and we hope to see Holly return to ITV’s This Morning soon.