Going solo... the ultimate proof Holly is now ITV’s Queen Bee
She’s alone on sofa for This Morning trailer
FOR the best part of 14 years, Holly Willoughby was one half of TV’s golden duo.
Now, as she returns to This Morning tomorrow after the dramatic departure of screen partner Phillip Schofield, Holly is finally the undisputed queen of ITV.
A trailer revealing the channel’s new daytime schedule showcases Holly, 42, on the famous This Morning sofa alone.
The decision to show her apart from other regular presenters on the show is a clear message that she is ‘Queen Bee’, say ITV insiders.
One told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Holly is the future and ITV wanted to make that clear. It is a sure sign that she is at the helm and that the other presenters will join her.
‘It’s a brand new start for This Morning. The scandal over Phillip could have destroyed it but the show has managed to keep going. There is a lot of excitement.’
Her return following a two-month break comes after she signed a new deal with ITV. The contract is said to have featured an ‘enhancement’ on her £700,000-a-year salary, although sources close to her have dismissed a reported figure of £1million as a ‘fabrication’. Schofield, 61, was ousted from This Morning in May following his fallout with Holly.
He later quit ITV after admitting a relationship with a much younger male colleague, which he had lied to The Mail on Sunday about.
Holly has reportedly spoken to an independent inquiry into the scandal, insisting that she knew nothing of his affair. For much of their working life together, she had a close friendship with Schofield. They regularly holidayed with their families in adjacent luxury villas on the Algarve.
Then she was said to be ‘gobsmacked’ when Schofield spoke out about his affair. A friend said: ‘When Phil admitted the truth, Holly was shell-shocked. Yes, it has hurt her. Phil was someone she was very close to for a very long time and the fact that she had even asked him if anything had gone on, and she was lied to, was really hurtful for her.’
Holly appears twice in the ITV trailer, which also advertises Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Loose Women. Her solo appearance is in stark contrast to promotional material of previous years, which showed her beside Schofield.
Notably, she is not shown beside Alison Hammond, who is set to be her regular co-presenter.
Instead Alison, 48, is shown with Dermot O’Leary, 50, with whom she hosts the Friday edition.
Holly and Alison first presented together in March, when Schofield was forced to take time off during his brother’s sexual abuse trial.
ITV bosses were thrilled with Holly and Alison’s chemistry. Holly has been lobbying to present the show more regularly with Alison, whom she considers a close friend.
Along with Alison, Holly will be joined by a rotation of hosts including O’Leary, Josie Gibson, Craig Doyle and Steve Jones.
Holly has been in Portugal for much of the summer break with her husband, TV producer Dan Baldwin, 48, and children Harry, 13, Belle, 11, and Chester, eight.