This Morning break silence after Phillip Schofield's extended absence is confirmed
Phillip Schofield has been notably absent from This Morning over the last week amid his brother, Tim Schofield's trial. The civilian police worker appeared in court on Monday to face 11 charges of interfering with a child.
A variety of famous faces have been filling in for Phillip as he takes some time out of the spotlight, and during Thursday's show, ITV confirmed that he would not present This Morning for the coming fortnight.
While This Morning bosses and those close to Phillip have remained tight-lipped about the allegations against his brother, they did pay tribute to him on Saturday in honour of his 61st birthday.
Taking to This Morning's official Instagram account, they posted a photo of a smiling Phillip with bunting and a confetti GIF, alongside the message: "Happy birthday @schofe, from everyone at #ThisMorning!"
They also added several photos of Phillip from various moments on the show, including snapshots of him with his co-presenter, Holly Willoughby, and Alison Hammond.
MORE: This Morning presenters' dreamy homes: Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield and more
MORE: Who is This Morning star Sharon Marshall's partner? Meet her family here
Phillip will be missing from This Morning for at least three weeks, however, the next fortnight had already been planned to coincide with his and Holly's time off for Easter.
Holly and Phillip have traditionally taken time away from their hosting duties during school holidays including Easter, Christmas and summer break. They will be replaced by Alison and Dermot O'Leary.
Phillip, who has been the face of the morning programme since 2003, usually appears on This Morning every Monday through Thursday alongside Holly. However, this week, Holly has been joined by replacements.
Alison appeared alongside Holly on Monday and Tuesday, while Wednesday and Thursday saw comedian and The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett join as a guest host.
On Monday's show, Holly and Alison were thrilled to be hosting together. The show opened with them addressing the change of presenters. After the credits rolled, loud music was playing in the studio as Holly began: "Phillip is having the week off, so all the adults have left the building!"
Meanwhile, comedian Joel was thrilled to be making his debut as a guest host. He wrote on Instagram: "This is not a DRILL! I'll be hosting @thismorning for the next few days with @hollywilloughby - See you in the morning."
Don't want to miss a story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.
