It’s been a turbulent few months for Holly Willoughby, and last week the stress appeared to have caught up with the presenter as she updated fans about her ongoing recovery from a bout of painful shingles.
Confined to her West London home for a week, friends, including co-star Phillip Schofield and Dermot O’Leary – who delivered a batch of chicken soup and salt beef to her house – sent their well wishes to Holly, 42.
Her illness came just weeks after Phil’s brother Timothy’s sexual assault trial, which earlier this month found him guilty of abusing a teenage boy.
The case, which led to Phil, 62, heartbreakingly revealing, “I no longer have a brother”, threw the team at This Morning into turmoil as producers scrambled to find a replacement. But a source reveals that Holly was a tower of strength for her close friend throughout.
The insider says, “Holly was in regular touch with Phillip during his break from the show. Making the decision he did about his brother wasn’t easy and Phil has had to rely on friends, especially Holly, for support and advice. And Holly, as always, has been more than happy to provide it.”
But while the pair, who have been presenting the show together since 2009, last week reunited on screen for the first time in a month, viewers’ continuing comments over September’s “queue-gate” scandal – which saw 75,000 viewers sign a petition to boot Holly and Phil off-air after they were accused of skipping the wait at the late Queen’s lying-in-state, something they both deny – give the sense the duo are always teetering on the brink of yet another drama.
And after enduring a tense few weeks while they rode the public storm, insiders says that this latest hurdle has left the exhausted star questioning her future on the ITV show.
They say, “Holly can’t deny that things have been tough recently and there are people who are determined to cause trouble. She really feels like she can’t stand this situation anymore, but is still hoping the drama can all be over and they can work through it.
“She gets on brilliantly with Alison and Dermot, but it’s a different dynamic. The way Holly and Phil see things is that they are a team and if one of them left the show, it simply wouldn’t be the same.
“If Phillip walked away, or was forced out, Holly has said she’d feel like she just couldn’t stay. She’d always vowed that if Phil went, then she would too.”
Ahead of turning 40 in 2021, Holly said, “I see my 40s as a chance to find myself again and figure out who I am” – a decision that inspired her to launch her lifestyle brand, Wylde Moon, later that year.
The mum-of-three and wife of one of TV’s top producers, Dan Baldwin, then went on to present BBC’s Freeze The Fear With Wim Hof and ITV’s The Games the following year, although the sporting show was later axed after one series.
Last week, it appeared Holly was trying her hand at being a beauty influencer as she promoted her new skincare range with cosmetics company Beauty Pie and shared a video of herself totally bare-faced, talking about her skin pigmentation.
And now the source says Holly is still keen to pursue her passions away from the show that made her a household name.
The source adds, “Holly has also been thinking for a long time that her future could lie away from the show, so all of the turmoil could prove to have a silver lining in pushing her to try something new.
“She is keen to broaden her horizons and there would be no shortage of channels or producers who would want her to be a part of their show.
“But This Morning are unlikely to give Holly up without a fight. She’s universally loved, and if she left the programme, producers fear viewers would vote with their remote controls.”