It’s fair to say all eyes were on Holly Willoughby when she made her return to This Morning on Monday (June 5).
The 42-year-old had been missing from the show for two weeks, and it marked her first time back since former co-host Phillip Schofield’s departure.
Holly had fronted the award-winning daytime series along Phillip for 14 years – until he quit ITV completely following his shocking affair confession.
But on Monday, Holly was there to welcome the show’s loyal legion viewers as she addressed her former pal’s drama for the first time.
And while some viewers rallied around Holly to show their support, others were not too keen. Even Holly’s fellow showbiz colleagues have chimed in to share their thoughts on her statement and comeback.
Amanda Holden
Amanda appeared to mock Holly’s statement when she returned to host her Heart Radio show on Tuesday (June 6). Taking to her Instagram from the Heart studios, Amanda said to her fans: “Hello. It is Tuesday. Are you okay?” She continued: “Today I am wearing this gorgeous white jumpsuit. It is from Me and Em. It’s been in my wardrobe for absolutely ages.”
Some people picked up on Amanda seemingly poking fun at Holly by asking her fans “are you okay”. One person tweeted: “Nice one!” followed by a laughing face emoji. Another person said: “I love Amanda Holden.” However, someone else added: “Amanda, you really just [need to] STOP being so catty.”
David Baddiel
In a scathing tweet in reaction to Holly’s statement: David wrote: “When Holly Willoughby said ‘Firstly, are you OK?’ I genuinely thought she was talking to someone behind camera, before realising that of course she was talking to us, the great British deeply-traumatised by everything’s that happened on an ITV morning show public.”
He then claimed he was “going to start every day with that from now on,” asking his followers: “Firstly, are you ok? Sorry, that was an idiotic thing to say. I meant – deep breath – are *you* ok?”
David then added: “The good thing about this is that all your replies about your lives are very nice and interesting. Maybe Holly was on to something.”
Michaela Strachan pokes fun at Holly Willoughby’s This Morning statement?
On Monday, Michaela Strachan from Springwatch also appeared to poke fun at Holly’s statement. During the show, a clip of a fox stealing a blackbird chick from its nest was shown.
“Everyone was on the edge of their seats watching that, how is everyone feeling?” Michaela said as the clip ended. “There is a lot to process isn’t there? Emotions are all over the place.”
“Michela Strachan trolling Holly Willoughby on #springwatch was easily the highlight of today,” one viewer tweeted.
Ann Widdecombe
Former MP Anne Widdecombe also mocked Holly’s speech. During an appearance on the Jeremy Vine Show, Anne decided to recite Holly’s speech. However, she did so to criticise the grammar.
“The grammar was awful. It’s not like I have it’s as I have. Like goes with a verb, as goes with a noun,” she fumed.
Viewers took to Twitter to complain. “I like Ann but she should not have joined in with this bullying,” one viewer fumed.
Jeremy Vine mocks Holly Willoughby’s This Morning speech
Channel 5 host Jeremy Vine also poked fun at Holly’s speech this week. Taking to Twitter, Jeremy shared the clip of Holly’s asking viewers if they were “ok”.
“If I wanted to answer this question, who should I speak to?” Jeremy tweeted.
James Haskell
Former rugby star James Haskell didn’t hold back either as he jumped on the bandwagon too. James slammed Holly’s speech during an appearance on the Jeremy Vine Show.
“Utter nonsense. She [Holly] asked: ‘Are you ok?’ A bloke off the TV cheated on his wife, I think I’ll survive, I think I’ll live. This is 2023 in a nutshell,” he fumed.
“I knew about this years ago, of course she [Holly] knows. Everybody knows,” he then alleged.
MP’s mock Holly
Even MP’s got in on the act too! During a hearing, an MP asked ITV’s head of strategy, policy and regulation, Magnus Brooke, “are you ok?”.
“Am I OK? Yes, I’m fine thank you,” Brooke replied. “‘Good, because I know that’s the question du jour at This Morning. I spent some time at the weekend,” MP John Nicholson then replied.
Jim Davidson slams Holly Willoughby’s This Morning speech
Comedian Jim Davidson also slammed Holly’s speech. During an appearance on GB News earlier this week, Jim took aim at Holly. While watching a clip of Holly’s speech, Jim pretended to cry and blubber.
“I got a bit nauseous,” Jim confessed after the clip had finished. “Don’t these people do anything but read the autocue?” he then fumed.
He then claimed that Holly’s speech didn’t come from the heart.
This Morning airs on weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
Head to our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.