Holly Willoughby’s year from hell: As the TV presenter quits This Morning after 14 years – we look at the turbulent 12 months before her exit from queue-gate to the Schofield scandal

Holly Willoughby has quit her role as host of This Morning after 14 years following the uncovering of a kidnap and murder plot against her.

The presenter, 42, announced her decision to leave the daytime show on Tuesday evening on her Instagram page, as she confirmed she ‘will not be returning’ to the show and revealed she had made the decision for ‘herself and her family’.

Holly has suffered severals blow over the last year, which began when her golden girl status was knocked during ‘Queuegate’, when she and former co-host Phillip Schofield were accused queue jumping at the Lying-in-State of Queen Elizabeth II.

At the time, Holly was said to be distraught over the change in public opinion towards her and the scandal reportedly caused a rift in her relationship with Phillip, 61, with insiders claiming that ‘cracks began to show’ between the once close pair.

Sources reported that relations between the co-hosts and friends deteriorated further in the coming months. They came to head when it emerged that Phillip had been having an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague.

Goodbye Holly! Holly Willoughby has quit her role as host of This Morning after 14 years following the uncovering of a kidnap and murder plot against her

Statement: The presenter took to Instagram today to confirm she ‘will not be returning’ to the show

Phillip stepped down from his position on the show amid the affair claims and ITV later cut ties with him after he released a statement admitting to the relationship.

While Holly remained on the show for several months, she has now followed her showbiz partner out the door following a turbulent 12 months. 

Following her exit, we take a look back at the past year.

Queuegate 

Holly and Phil came under fire last year when they were accused of having ‘VIP access’ to skip the queue and file past the Queen lying in state. Which the stars and ITV both denied.

Following the death of the monarch, Holly and Phillip attended the lying in state and claimed they were there to film for work purposes.

However because no footage from the day was aired, critics accused them of queue jumping in front of mourners who had waited hours for their moment to honour the late Queen Elizabeth II. 

According to reports earlier this year, Holly was ‘devastated’ by the public reception and the broadcaster’s ‘decision to remain silent.’

A source told the publication: ‘The Queuegate backlash was absolutely devastating for Holly, but what made matters worse was the feeling it was mishandled.

‘ITV’s decision to remain silent before finally issuing a statement was frustrating, as it felt like they were shutting the door after the horse had bolted.

‘Bosses know last year was incredibly hard for her and as such, they are not approaching her contract negotiations with the same confidence as they have previously.’

In September, This Morning bosses denied show hosts Holly and Phillip had ‘VIP access’ and filed ‘past the Queen lying in state’ as they filmed a segment for the programme at Westminster Hall in London.

Queue: Holly and Phil came under fire last year when they were accused of having ‘VIP access’ to file ‘past the Queen lying in state,’ skipping the queue, a claim the stars and ITV have both denied

Statement: They filmed a segment for the programme at Westminster Hall in London with reports surfacing that they had cut queues and received special treatment

The presenters cut sombre figures as they dressed in black and visited the Queen’s coffin to film for the upcoming episode which was due to air the day after the late monarch’s state funeral.

With reports the five-mile long queue had been closed for six hours, boosting the wait time to ‘at least 14 hours’, the TV duo were said to have joined a separate queue and were taken into a press gallery.

ITV bosses posted a statement on Instagram which denied the pair had received special treatment: ‘Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something. We asked Phillip and Holly to be part of a film for this Tuesday’s programme,’ it read. 

‘They did not jump the queue, have VIP access or file past the Queen lying in state – but instead were there in a professional capacity as part of the world’s media to report on the event.’

Despite the support from the broadcaster, there is no denying that public perception towards the pair had soured due to the events that unfolded.

Things were also strained between Phillip and Holly, with studio insiders claiming that the atmosphere was ‘awful’ and there relationship was ‘extremely awkward’.  

They told Ok! magazine at the time: ‘You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. The fact that the audience are now noticing it too indicates that big cracks are starting to show.’

Holly reportedly struggled a lot with the public backlash and apparently couldn’t bare to look at social media due to the negative comments about them. 

A source told Heat magazine: ‘Holly’s had one of the worst weeks ever. There’s so much hatred directed at her right now and she can’t even bring herself to look at social media to see what people are saying. 

‘Holly’s used to having this perfect reputation. She’s been hit really hard by all this hostility and anger.’ 

The programme received more than 400 Ofcom complaints from viewers over the scandal. A petition on Change.org to get Phillip and co-host Holly axed from This Morning following the scandal reached almost 79,000 signatures.

Booed at the NTAS

Holly and Phil were booed as they accepted the Best Daytime Award at the National Television Awards 2022 in the aftermath of the ‘queuegate’ scandal.

Despite the criticism the broadcasters received, which some said was so severe it was impacting their mental health, This Morning still took home the Daytime gong.

While he did not address the controversy, Phillip said the award means ‘so much to us every year, especially this year’.

‘Please don’t think we ever get complacent and please don’t think we ever take it for granted. This means so much to us every year, especially this year. We have the best boss.’

Holly added: ‘This Morning has a very special relationship with you, you make our show for us, you really do. All these guys on the stage here, Alison [Hammond] and Dermot [O’Leary], Rochelle [Humes] and Vernon [Kay], Josie [Gibson], everyone. Thank you for all your support.’

Awkward: Holly and Phil were booed as they accepted the Best Daytime Award at the National Television Awards 2022 in the aftermath of the ‘queuegate’ scandal

Winners: Despite the criticism the broadcasters received, which some said was so severe it was impacting their mental health, This Morning still took home the Daytime gong

The widespread backlash sparked concerns for their mental wellbeing, particularly after it was revealed Schofield would not return to his lucrative We Buy Any Car deal.

A TV source said: ‘The abuse has been nothing short of disgusting, not least as they have done nothing wrong and were fully entitled to media accreditation so they could inform their viewers.

‘There is huge, real and serious concerns over their wellbeing and ITV are fully supporting them behind the scenes in the face of such relentless trolling. The channel backs them 110 per cent.’

Phillip Schofield feud

Phillip made a bombshell confession to the Mail that he had a relationship with a much younger man who worked with him on This Morning while still married to wife Stephanie Lowe.

Holly was at the centre of the fallout from Phillip’s affair as critics questioned whether she knew of her co-star’s ‘deceit’ or if she too was hoodwinked by the presenter. She later confirmed she was in the dark over the affair.

Phillip further confessed that he lied to his employer ITV, to his colleagues, his friends and his agents at the management firm YMU.

Phillip’s former colleague Eamonn Holmes then took to social media to make a string of allegations, suggesting station bosses knew of claims against Phillip and ‘never once took action’ – leaving the future of ITV’s flagship magazine programme hanging in the balance.

Naturally, attention turned to Holly – who sat alongside Phillip on daytime TV’s most famous sofa for 13 years, and who enjoyed a very public friendship with him and wife Stephanie, even holidaying together most years.

Statement: A tearful Holly returned to This Morning today and immediately put the boot into Phillip. Beginning her speech with ‘are you ok?’, in a widely-mocked monologue 

Pictured: Holly admitted she felt ‘shaken, troubled’ and ‘let down’ after her disgraced former co-host lied to her and ITV colleagues over his affair with a younger man who worked on the show 

The co-stars had previously plastered holiday snaps all over Instagram, showing them doing shots and posing in the sunshine, with Phillip labelling Holly his ‘bestie’. He also described her as ‘my rock’ when reports of their feud emerged earlier this month.

When Phillip came out as gay in 2020, Holly wrote on Instagram that she had ‘never been more proud of my friend than I am today’ and was said to have thrown her support behind Stephanie in the lead up to and aftermath of the announcement.

However, when she learned of his relationship with the younger colleague, the TV star claimed she was finding out with the rest of the world.

Holly slammed her former ‘bestie’ following the revelations of his affair – and friends have said it was ‘traumatic’ for her to discover his dishonesty.

Holly said in a brief statement that she asked him directly if the news was true and that it had been ‘very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie’. 

Sources close to the presenter said it had been a ‘traumatic’ revelation for the This Morning host and a ‘time of real sadness’ as Phillip ‘was her very close friend’.

Holly took an extended half term break while dealing with the revelations and returned to the This Morning sofa on June 5. 

But friends of Holly told The Mail On Sunday that she has ‘absolutely no plans to leave This Morning,’ and that she was ‘looking forward to going back when she is back from her half-term break’.

A tearful Holly returned to This Morning today and immediately put the boot into Phillip. Beginning her speech with ‘are you ok?’, in a widely-mocked monologue.

Holly admitted she felt ‘shaken, troubled’ and ‘let down’ after her disgraced former co-host lied to her and ITV colleagues over his affair with a younger man who worked on the show.

She hugged co-host Josie Gibson and held her hand as she said it ‘feels very strange indeed’ to be on the show without Phillip, briefly calling him ‘Phil’ before moving on.

And in a brutal put down for Phillip, she said that the This Morning team ‘gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth’.

She referenced his younger lover, who has left ITV where he was a successful studio runner and was last seen working in a pub, saying she was ‘worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on’.

Holly Willoughby’s full statement on This Morning 

‘Hi there, good morning. Josie, thank you for being here. Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so. It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil. And I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have.

‘Shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on and full of questions.

‘You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved.

‘That is a lot to process. And it’s equally hard to see the toll that it’s taken on their own mental health. I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone.

‘I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other. And from my heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning.

‘Myself, Josie, Dermot, Alison, Craig and every single person that works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love.’

She also confirmed that she wanted to stay on the show amid rumours that her role could be under threat.

‘I hope that as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other. And from my heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning,’ she said.

‘Myself, Josie, Dermot [O’Leary], Alison [Hammond], Craig [Doyle], and every single person that works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you that, this show that we love.’

Holly was said to be nervous ahead of the show and she opened it with a statement she wrote herself. 

Holly clutched Josie’s hand and said: ‘Josie, thank you for being here. Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? I hope so. It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil. And I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have.

‘Shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on and full of questions.

‘You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV and step down from a career that they loved. 

‘That is a lot to process. And it’s equally hard to see the toll that it’s taken on their own mental health. I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone.’

Phillip said he ‘didn’t tell anybody’ about his affair with his former This Morning colleague, confirming in an interview with the BBC that Holly ‘did not know’.

Similarly, in his interview with the Sun, the presenter apologised to Holly or lying to her about his relationship, saying: ‘I’ve lost my best friend.’

He added: ‘I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.

‘Holly did not know and she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say: ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.

‘She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply as well. So, yeah, if anyone is in any way linking Holly to this, that is absolutely, wholly untrue.’

The duo, had presented the show together since 2009 and also co-hosted Dancing On Ice.

NTAs snub

Holly was snubbed from the TV presenter category for the second year in a row at the National Television Awards after the affair furore.

Holly and Phil had been longlisted for the best TV presenter prize, alongside fellow This Morning hosts Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary, Rylan Clark and Martin Lewis, but only Alison and Martin made the cut.

However, This Morning was nominated for best daytime show despite the affair scandal but later lost out to The Repair Shop.

Holly, who hosted alongside Phillip from 2009 onwards, continued to present the show with a series of co-stars, while MPs called on ITV bosses to address claims of toxicity and bullying behind the scenes.

Out: Holly was snubbed from the TV presenter category for the second year in a row at the National Television Awards after the affair furore

Controversy: Holly and Phil had been longlisted for the best TV presenter prize, alongside fellow This Morning hosts Alison Hammond , Dermot O’Leary , Rylan Clark and Martin Lewis, but only Alison and Martin made the cut (Phillip pictured in November)

Kidnap and murder plot 

Holly’s exit from the ITV show comes after a former Pizza Hut worker was remanded in custody last week charged over an alleged plot to kidnap and murder her.

Gavin Plumb, 36, from Harlow, Essex, is accused of offences including soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap in relation to the broadcaster, allegedly contacting a hitman in the U.S. and booking him flights.

Insiders have now told MailOnline that the alleged plot pushed Holly to quit, but added that it had been in chaos since Phillip’s exit.

This Morning had due to be relaunched in January with Holly and a new host, sources say. Good Morning Britain’s Ben Shephard was reportedly the favourite to replace Phillip.

Harrowing: Gavin Plumb, 36, appeared in the dock at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Friday accused of soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap 

The TV presenter pulled out of hosting This Morning on Thursday and her London home was reportedly being guarded by police after Plumb was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy to kidnap. 

Holly’s full statement today said: ‘I have let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning.

‘To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so so much. This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we’ve done together. 

‘Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive. To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you. Most of all, thank you to the wonderful viewers. You’ve been so loyal, so supportive and the very best company every day. 

‘Richard and Judy said we only look after this show, it will always belong to the viewers’. It’s been an honour to just be part of it’s story and I know this story has many chapters left to go. Sadly, however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family.

‘I will miss you all so much.’

An ITV boss said the broadcaster is looking forward to working with Holly ‘in the future’ following the news she is quitting This Morning.

In a statement, Kevin Lygo, managing director of media and entertainment at ITV, told MailOnline: ‘We are sad that Holly is leaving This Morning, but respect her decision which we know will have been extremely difficult for her to make.

‘Holly is one of the best loved, respected and most accomplished broadcasters in the UK. She has been at the heart of This Morning for the past 14 years, and she is adored by our viewers.’

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield’s dramatic year on This Morning

In a dramatic year for daytime TV staple This Morning, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby have both now left the sofa that they had shared together for more than 10 years.

Schofield’s fall from grace was swift following him admitting to an affair with a much younger male colleague while still married to his wife and losing his talent representation before departing from ITV altogether.

Willoughby said her decision in October was to spend more time ‘for me and my family’ and the broadcaster’s managing director for media and entertainment Kevin Lygo has said she ‘remains a much-loved member of the ITV family’ and that he hopes to work with her in the future.

Here is a timeline of how events unfolded:

– February 2020: Schofield comes out as gay after nearly 27 years of marriage to wife Stephanie, in an emotional on-air chat with co-host and long-time friend Willoughby. The pair embrace on the sofa.

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have both faced criticism

September 2022: The co-hosts face criticism over claims they skipped the queue for Queen Elizabeth II’s lying in state while attending as members of the media to film a segment for This Morning.

April 17 2023: The first hint something might be wrong comes in the first show after the Easter break. Schofield and Willoughby should both be on the sofa after he took leave while his brother Timothy was on trial for child sex offences. While Schofield is back in the studio, Willoughby is absent, saying she has shingles.

May 10: The Sun reports the pair are ‘barely speaking’.

May 11: Schofield calls Holly ‘his rock’ and says they are ‘the best of friends’.

May 15: The pair put on a united front on This Morning and make no reference to stories in the press about their relationship.

May 18: Schofield presents what will turn out to be his last episode of This Morning.

May 20: Schofield steps down from This Morning with immediate effect. ITV says he will continue to present ‘peak-time shows’, including The British Soap Awards and a new prime-time series. Willoughby releases a statement saying the sofa ‘won’t feel the same without him’.

Presenters Dermot O´Leary and Alison Hammond

May 21: It is announced that Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond will host the show on Monday May 22, as Willoughby takes early half-term leave. It is announced she will return to hosting duties on June 5.

May 22: O’Leary and Hammond host the show and hail Schofield as ‘one of the best live television broadcasters this country has ever had’.

May 26: Schofield admits to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a much younger male colleague and resigns from ITV. He confirms the relationship began while he was still with his wife and says he will not be hosting the British Soap Awards, his last public commitment. He apologises for lying about the relationship. He is dropped by his talent agency YMU.

May 27: Willoughby accuses Schofield of lying to her about the affair, saying his admission is ‘very hurtful’. ITV says the broadcaster was ‘not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour’ when it looked into the matter in 2020.

May 28: Former This Morning resident doctor Dr Ranj Singh says the show is ‘toxic’, adding he raised concerns about ‘bullying and discrimination’ two years ago when he worked there and afterwards felt like he was ‘managed out’ for whistleblowing. ITV responds by saying an external and independent adviser was appointed to carry out a review after the complaint, which found ‘no evidence of bullying or discrimination’.

Dame Carolyn McCall, chief executive of ITV

May 29: Schofield releases a statement denying ‘toxicity’ at This Morning and says ‘it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice’. Former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes alleges there was a ‘total cover-up’ at ITV over the affair and, in an interview on GB News, says Willoughby should follow Schofield ‘out the door’.

May 31: In a letter, seen by the PA news agency, ITV’s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall says the broadcaster has instructed a barrister to conduct an external review of how it has handled Schofield’s affair. She adds that Jane Mulcahy KC, of Blackstone Chambers, will ‘carry out an external review to establish the facts’.

June 1: Dame Carolyn is called to give evidence to a parliamentary committee on June 14 to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling after the departure of Schofield.

The Sun publishes an interview with Schofield in which he says he is sorry to Willoughby but owes his ‘greatest apology’ to his former lover. He reiterates that he did not ‘groom’ the man, and that although his wife was ‘very, very angry’ about the affair, his daughters have been ‘guarding’ him during the fallout.

June 2: The BBC airs its own interview with Schofield, conducted by media editor Amol Rajan. Schofield says he has ‘lost everything’ and the affair has had a ‘catastrophic effect’ on his mind. Speaking about the criticism he has faced he says he can see ‘nothing ahead’ except ‘blackness and sadness’ and now speaks about his career in television ‘in the past tense’. Schofield also urges the media to leave the younger man alone.

June 5: Willoughby makes an emotional return to This Morning, saying she felt ‘shaken, troubled, let down and worried’ following the revelations about Schofield. The episode was watched by an average of 839,000 viewers, the highest daily average for the show since the coronation bank holiday on May 8, and had a peak audience of 1.6 million.

June 14: ITV boss Dame Carolyn is questioned by MPs alongside ITV managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel and company secretary Kyla Mullins about Schofield’s exit. Dame Carolyn tells the Culture, Media and Sport (CMS) Committee that the broadcaster does not recognise allegations of a toxic culture at This Morning, saying ‘it deeply disappoints me’.

September 5: This Morning loses its best daytime show title at the National Television Awards to The Repair Shop following being on a winning streak in the daytime category for the last number of years.

September 13: Dame Carolyn updates the CMS committee to say the external review is being led by Jane Mulcahy KC and she has ‘conducted multiple witness interviews, with further interviews set to continue during the course of September’.

October 6: A shopping centre security officer is remanded in custody over an alleged plot to kidnap and murder Willoughby. Gavin Plumb, 36, was charged at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court with soliciting a man named David Nelson to commit murder, and incitement to commit kidnap between October 2 and 5 in Harlow, Essex. The other man was due to arrive in the UK the following week from the US, the court heard.

October 10: Willoughby announces she is stepping down from presenting This Morning after 14 years saying on Instagram that it was an ‘honour to just be part of its story’. Following Willoughby’s announcement, Mr Lygo said: ‘She remains a much loved member of the ITV family and we look forward to continuing to work with her in the future.’

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