Despite her dazzling appearance at the National Television Awards in London last week, Holly Willoughby was hit with more criticism after being booed by fans as This Morning failed to win anything for the first time in 12 years.
And while she’s been putting on a brave face over the past few months as she attempts to salvage her reputation, Holly, 42, admitted to Closer that it’s been “difficult”.
She said backstage at the NTAs, “If I’m really honest, it’s been up and down, you know. I think it’s been a really difficult year for everybody.”
Holly – who left the awards bash arm-in-arm with husband Dan Baldwin – has previously revealed, “Support is everything in mine and Dan’s relationship,” adding, “Family comes before everything”.
And now insiders say the presenter – who also made her return to the This Morning sofa last week – is determined to ensure her work dramas don’t impact life at home.
A source says, “It’s been really tough for Holly with her nerve-wracking return to work. Her anxiety has been through the roof over the past few weeks and while she’s tried her very best to plaster a smile on her face back on the sofa, it’s been incredibly difficult for her to keep it together.
“Thankfully, she’s come back from a much-needed summer break filled with quality time with her family and friends and that’s helped open her eyes to what’s important in life and helped her to put the critics in a box and keep going.
“While getting back to work has been tougher than she’d even expected, she’s also in a far stronger place and has realised just how happy and content she is in every other aspect of her life. In times gone by, she would have been a wreck with this much going on and would be bringing that tension home with her. But now she’s vowed not to let it affect her family life and marriage – she can’t let it all break them.”
Her appearance on the red carpet at the prestigious TV awards was the first time Holly has attended without her former co-star Phillip Schofield, 61, by her side following his shock affair and subsequent departure from the daytime show in May.
She was forced to fend off any questions about Phil on the red carpet, and headed home early with a takeaway cheeseburger – a huge change from seven years ago when they both presented This Morning while “drunk” after a night of partying at the 2016 NTAs.
While Holly is yet to speak to Phil following his admission to embarking on a secret and “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger colleague, their 14-year friendship took another downward turn last week when Phil unfollowed Holly on Instagram ahead of her NTAs appearance.
And despite Holly telling Closer that the decision on who to replace Phil hasn’t been made yet, adding, “The decision will be on who people like rather than what I have to say”, the shadow of her fallout with Phil is still threatening her own popularity with fans.
Holly’s return to the flagship ITV show alongside Alison Hammond after her extended break in Portugal with her husband Dan, 47, and their three children – Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and eight-year-old Chester – was described by some viewers as “cringe”. One social media user wrote, “I used to love Holly, unfortunately now she just annoys me”, while another added the she was “lost” without her “sidekick and leader” and that it was “time to walk away”.
Meanwhile, rumours of a toxic atmosphere and favouritism behind the scenes at the ITV show are rumbling on – something Holly, who has been criticised for her sudden closeness to rising star Alison, says is “a world I honestly don’t recognise”.
The source adds, “Holly’s got a lot of things to look forward to, both personally and professionally, and while she knows her road back to gaining public trust is not going to be plain sailing, she’s also hell- bent on ensuring that whatever storms she weathers on the way, nothing will be as important as her family and as long as she has them by her side, she knows she’ll be OK.”