ITV1 Dancing on Ice's Holly Willoughby's reason behind This Morning exit and huge new Netflix role
It's been more than a year since regular daytime TV face, Holly Willoughby departed ITV show, This Morning, but fans of the presenter are pleased to see her back on Sunday nights this winter hosting Dancing on Ice With the show continuing each Sunday ITV, Holly co-hosts the show with Phillip Schofield’s replacement, the presenter and comedian, Stephen Mulhern.
The 43-year-old is also continuing her ITV connection all while embracing new challenges in her career, as she will also be appearing on a new jungle-based Netflix show with Bear Grylls. Its celebrity cast includes the likes of Mel B, Shirley Ballas and Boris Becker taking part as they take on the Costa Rican jungle. For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.
It's great to see Holly front and centre on TV, again after her departure from This Morning, which she hosted for almost 14 years, was revealed to coincide with the uncovering of a distressing plot against the star and her family.
READ MORE: 22 Kids and Counting's Sue Radford shares emotional news after Noel left worried
READ MORE: ITV Dancing On Ice break silence as star quits hours before live show
Why did she leave This Morning?
Holly Willoughby left This Morning in October 2023 following a challenging year after it was revealed that her counterpart Philip Schofield had allegedly been having an affair with a young staff member on This Morning.
Philip reportedly met when the individual was 15, but denied anything illegal had taken place, as their relationship only became romantic when he was over the age of 18. Tension grew between Philip and Holly on air, with fans speculating over whether she was aware of the allegations.
She later claimed she had also not been aware of the situation, saying that she was “shocked” by the news. Holly had been with the show for over 14 years, but it seemed a combination of personal and professional difficulties led her to step down.
Most notably, there was a serious kidnap plot against her In July 2024. Gavin Plumb was given three life sentences for planning to break into her home, then sedate, abduct and kill her and her husband.
In her first interview since leaving, Holly shared that it had been an incredibly tough period, and she needed to focus on her family and well-being.
She told The Sunday Times Style Magazine: “It’s been tough. There’s no way of sugar-coating it. Sometimes things go wrong, but you have to keep going for it because that’s all you can do.”
She also shared: "Nothing can prepare you for something like that. When something like that happens, you have a decision to make. You either decide, right, I can take this on board and it can absolutely affect all aspects of my life.
"Or I can make a choice to go, let’s focus on everything that’s positive and good, all those important things. I’m healthy and I’m happy. I’ve got a wonderful husband and children and family, I’ve got great friends.
"You have to go: I choose to positively move forward and rely on all those people — the police, the court, the judge, the jury — all those people to do their role. And that’s what I had to do.”
What's Holly's new job on Celebrity Bear Hunt?
Holly is also returning to the limelight with a new Netflix show alongside Bear Grylls - Celebrity Bear Hunt, which will drop on February 5. Holly embarked on an adventure to Central America with 12 other brave stars, who we will see get taught survival skills in a setting that is well out of their comfort zones.
She opened up about her concerns regarding her family during her absence with The Sunday Times Style Magazine, saying: "I always thought, if I disappeared and left, you know, the wheels would fall off the family, the kids wouldn't end up going to school on time.
"[But] Dan coped brilliantly, did all that. " She added: "The kids were fine. I really enjoyed it. I thought I was going to be really homesick, but no offence to my family. I absolutely wasn't."
