Holly Willoughby – live: Vanessa Feltz’s emotional tribute as presenter quits This Morning

Vanessa Feltz joined This Morning presenters Craig Doyle and Rochelle Humes in paying tribute to “golden-hearted” Holly Willoughby on the first episode since she announced her resignation.

“She is a golden-hearted, sweet, funny, extremely bright...clever, intuitive, incisive, fabulous person...she’s a wonderful person, and you can see family is her absolute everything,” Feltz praised her friend Willoughby.

Willoughby announced she would be quitting the daytime show on Tuesday (10 October), after 14 years presenting This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield.

In a statement shared on Instagram, the 42-year-old ITV presenter said it has been an “honour to just be part of [the show’s] story”, but “I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family”.

Willoughby had reportedly been placed on “indefinite leave” from the show ahead of her resignation.

Messages of support for the star quickly flooded in following her announcement with her This Morning colleague Alison Hammond writing: “This is a very sad day! Love You.”

Key points

• Why is Holly Willoughby quitting This Morning?

• Alison Hammond leads well-wishes

• Where is Phillip Schofield now?

• Who is kidnap plot suspect Gavin Plumb?

• This Morning stars pay tribute to Holly Willoughby in on-air segment

Holly Willoughby’s mother commends ‘wonderful, beautiful daughter'

12:43 , Nicole Vassell

Holly Willoughby posted the announcement of her This Morning departure on Instagram on Tuesday (10 October).

As well as receiving support from celebrity colleagues and fans, Willoughby also received public encouragement from her mother, Lynn.

“My truly wonderful beautiful daughter, you will always be the brightest star in our eyes,” she wrote in the comments of her daughter’s Instagram post.

Richard Madeley calls Willoughby’s decision to quit This Morning ‘brave and wise’

12:13 , Maanya Sachdeva

Former This Morning host Richard Madeley said Holly Willoughby’s decision to leave the daytime show is “brave and wise”.

Willoughby announced she was stepping down from her role after 14 years, days after a man was charged with an alleged plot to kidnap and murder the star.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Madeley said: “I think that Holly’s done a very brave, wise and courageous thing.

“Given the year she has had and all she has had to put up with and given she has done the show for 14 years, she can step back and take stock.”

Watch: Holly Willoughby’s most memorable moments on This Morning

11:43 , Maanya Sachdeva

This Morning hosts pay emotional tribute to Holly Willoughby live on air: ‘She will forever be one of us’

11:13 , Maanya Sachdeva

Watch the tribute to Willoughby here:

This Morning’s emotional tribute to Holly Willoughby: ‘She’ll forever be one of us’

Rochelle Humes and Craig Doyle celebrate Willoughby’s tenure

10:32 , Maanya Sachdeva

This Morning co-host Rochelle Humes said: “Holly loved her job here and was really looking forward to the future of the show, but recent events, especially in the past week, have been hard to deal with, and she’s quite rightly putting her family first.”

Craig Doyle added: “On behalf of everyone here, in front and behind the camera, we just loved working with Holly. She made coming to work so much fun. We’re all really sad, and we’re really going to miss her.”

Feltz appears to address alleged kidnap plot

10:29 , Maanya Sachdeva

“She is a golden-hearted, sweet, funny, extremely bright...clever, intuitive, incisive, fabulous person...she’s a wonderful person, and you can see family is her absolute everything,” Feltz praised her friend Willoughby.

Appearing to address the alleged foiled kidnapping plot, she continued: “When somebody is rocked to the core by a threat of pure evil upon their actual life....you can see why she’s made the decision she’s made.”

This Morning pays tribute to Willoughby

10:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

A brief tribute to Willoughby was made by her former This Morning colleagues including Vanessa Feltz and Tom Swarbrick.

Feltz said: “You can see why she’s made the decision she’s made, it will have been so incredibly hard of her...

Some viewers expressed their suprise at the brief on-air tribute to Willoughby, who has been at the daytime show for 14 years.

10:06 , Maanya Sachdeva

We’re now tuning into the first This Morning show since longtime presenter Holly Willoughby announced her resignation.

09:40 , Maanya Sachdeva

Alison Hammond, Carol Vorderman, and Vanessa Feltz are among the TV personalities who have expressed their support for Holly Willoughby, as the former This Morning presenter looks to begin a new chapter.

“This is a very sad day,” fellow This Morning star Hammond wrote on X/Twitter.

We’ve rounded up industry reactions to Willoughby’s departure here:

Alison Hammond leads tributes to Holly Willoughby as she quits This Morning

Sky News criticised for covering Holly Willoughby ITV exit from Israel

09:20 , Maanya Sachdeva

“Imagine reporting live from an active war zone and having to stop reporting on that for the ‘Breaking News’ that Holly Willoughby has left This Morning. Our country is a parody sometimes,” one person wrote on X/Twitter.

Read the full story here:

Sky News criticised for interrupting Israel coverage to report Holly Willoughby exit

Holly Willoughby’s resignation in full

09:00 , Maanya Sachdeva

You can read Holly Willoughby’s resignation from ITV’s This Morning in full here:

Holly Willoughby’s statement in full as presenter quits This Morning after 14 years

A timeline of Holly Willoughby’s TV career – from the Queen’s funeral to resignation

08:36 , Maanya Sachdeva

Holly Willoughby has quit This Morning after a 14-year stint, alongside Phillip Schofield, that culminated in a turbulent final year.

Below, my colleague Tom Murray has created a timeline tracing how This Morning’s beloved presenting team abruptly went off-air.

Holly Willoughby timeline: From Queen’s funeral to Phillip Schofield to resignation

08:16 , Maanya Sachdeva

Morning! If you’re just joining us, Holly Willoughby has resigned from This Morning, with the TV presenter explaining she was making the difficult decision to leave ITV “for me and my family”.

Willoughby’s resignation comes after a tumultuous 12 months, including the controversy with her former co-presenter Phillip Schofield, as well as an alleged kidnapping plot.

Follow along as we cover the first This Morning show since Willoughby announced her exit, as well as any live reactions from her fans and colleagues.

Holly Willoughby’s memorable ‘are you OK?’ speech

08:01 , Roisin O'Connor

Following the scandal surrounding her former colleague, Phillip Schofield, Willoughby returned to This Morning and first addressed the viewers at home with a statement about the tumult of the past few weeks.

“I imagine that you might be 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,” she began.

“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.”

Holly Willoughby’s This Morning statement addressing Schofield scandal in full

Willoughby’s resignation comes months after Philip Schofield’s exit

07:37 , Tom Murray

Willoughby has left This Morning just five months after her co-star of 14 years Philip Schofield.

Schofield exited the programme in May after admitting to having a relationship with a younger male former colleague, with his departure sparking further allegations that the show was fostering a “toxic” bullying culture.

The presenter admitted he had lied to his employers, Willoughby, his agent and his family about the nature of his relationship with his colleague, calling it an “unwise” but not “illegal” affair.

Willoughby said it was “very hurtful” to find out that her co-star had lied about the relationship.

Read more:

Phillip Schofield makes shock ‘appearance’ at NTAs months after scandal

Who is kidnap plot suspect Gavin Plumb?

05:40 , Tom Murray

A man was remanded in custody last week over an alleged plot to kidnap and murder Holly Willoughby.

Gavin Plumb, a shopping centre security officer, is charged with soliciting a man named David Nelson to commit murder, and incitement to commit kidnap between 2 and 5 October in Harlow, Essex, when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Friday 6 October.

Plumb, 36, of Potters Field in Harlow, is accused of planning to assemble a “kidnap and restraint kit” and encouraging a third party to travel to Britain to carry out the alleged offences targeting the 42-year-old presenter.

A plea hearing is scheduled at Chelmsford Crown Court on 3 November.

Read more:

Security guard accused over alleged plot to kidnap and murder Holly Willoughby

Watch: Rishi Sunak sends best wishes to Holly Willoughby after alleged kidnap threat

04:41 , Tom Murray

Video: Alison Hammond addresses Holly Willoughby kidnap threat

03:43 , Tom Murray

Holly Willoughby’s statement in full

02:44 , Tom Murray

In a post to Instagram, Willoughby wrote: “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 its 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. Holly”

How This Morning went from two beloved presenters to none

01:45 , Tom Murray

Just one year ago, Willoughby and Schofield were celebrating their 13th consecutive win at the National Television Awards, which they consistently dominated.

Both presenters have now gone, albeit for very different reasons.

I put together a timeline, beginning with “Queuegate” and ending with Willoughby’s resignation tracking an extremely turbulent 13 months for the ITV chat show.

Holly Willoughby timeline: From Queen’s funeral to Philip Schofield to resignation

Who is Holly Willoughby’s husband and how many children do they have?

Wednesday 11 October 2023 00:39 , Tom Murray

In her statement, Willoughby said she had made the decision to leave This Morning “for me and my family”.

She has three children – Belle, Harry and Chester – with husband Daniel Baldwin, whom she married in 2007.

Baldwin is a TV producer who has worked on shows including Michael McIntyre's Big Show, The Wheel and Celebrity Juice. The pair met on the CITV show Ministry of Mayhem, which first aired in 2004 before it was renamed to Holly & Stephen’s Saturday Showdown.

They became engaged in 2006 and married in 2007.

The couple recently celebrated Baldwin’s 48th birthday, with Willoughby sharing a sweet photo of them together on her Instagram page, with the caption: “Happy Birthday to my love.”

Star’s mother comments

Tuesday 10 October 2023 23:16 , Tom Murray

Willoughby’s mother, Lynn Willoughby, has shared a message of support for her daughter.

“My truly wonderful beautiful daughter, you will always be the brightest star in our eyes,” she wrote in the comments of her daughter’s Instagram post.

Sky News under fire for timing of Willoughby announcement

Tuesday 10 October 2023 22:13 , Tom Murray

Sky News is facing criticism for announcing the news of Willoughby’s resignation during a live broadcast from Israel.

Sky’s Mark Austin, who is reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, delivered the news from Jerusalem mid-broadcast.

Clips of the segment are being widely circulated on Twitter/X with many calling the transition “inappropriate” and “lacking sensitivity” to the situation in the Middle East.

Read more:

Sky News criticised for interrupting Israel coverage to report Holly Willoughby exit

Dermot O’Leary: ‘Nothing but love and respect for you and yours’

Tuesday 10 October 2023 20:40 , Tom Murray

Dermot O’Leary is the latest This Morning presenter to reach out to Willoughby following her announcement.

O’Leary commented on his colleague’s Instagram post: “Nothing but love and respect for you and yours.”

Fellow presenter Craig Doyle added: “We are so supportive of you and we love you to bits, we just wish it didn’t end this way. It’s a sad day for everyone.”

Josie Gibson wrote: “You’ve made me laugh until my cheeks ache sharing the sofa with you. We are sending you so much love HW.”

Willoughby’s resignation comes months after Philip Schofield’s exit

Tuesday 10 October 2023 19:55 , Tom Murray

Willoughby has left This Morning just five months after her co-star of 14 years Philip Schofield.

Schofield exited the programme in May after admitting to having a relationship with a younger male former colleague, with his departure sparking further allegations that the show was fostering a “toxic” bullying culture.

The presenter admitted he had lied to his employers, Willoughby, his agent and his family about the nature of his relationship with his colleague, calling it an “unwise” but not “illegal” affair.

Willoughby said it was “very hurtful” to find out that her co-star had lied about the relationship.

Read more:

Phillip Schofield makes shock ‘appearance’ at NTAs months after scandal

Sky News reported Holly Willoughby’s resignation live from Jerusalem

Tuesday 10 October 2023 19:49 , Tom Murray

Sky News was live in Jerusalem delivering updates from the Israel-Hamas conflict when news of Willoughby’s resignation came in.

Clips of the moment are circulating widely on Twitter/X as viewers comment on whether the news was necessarily important to break warzone coverage.

Alison Hammond leads well-wishes

Tuesday 10 October 2023 19:22 , Tom Murray

“This is a very sad day! Love You,” wrote Willoughby’s This Morning co-star Alison Hammond in response to her statement on Instagram.

Other TV personalities to wish Willoughby their best included Carol Vorderman who wrote: “Wishing you and your family peace and strength in what must be a very difficult time after the news of last week Holly x. From my time on TM, I know that the team will miss you very much. Take care.”

Read more:

Why is Holly Willoughby quitting This Morning?

Tuesday 10 October 2023 19:11 , Tom Murray

Willoughby was reportedly on “indefinite leave” from the show after news emerged of an alleged kidnap plot against her last week.

On Friday 6 October, Gavin Plumb, 36, of Potters Field, Harlow, was charged with soliciting to commit murder and incitement to commit kidnap.

Superintendent Tim Tubbs said: “This was an extremely fast paced investigation, with many of our officers and national partners working overnight to secure these charges. The safeguarding of any victim is paramount and we will continue to prioritise this as the investigation proceeds.”

Read more:

Holly Willoughby quits This Morning following alleged kidnap plot

Sky News faces criticism for sharing Willoughby news during live broadcast from Israel war zone

01:32 , Tom Murray

Sky’s Mark Austin, who is reporting on the Israel-Hamas conflict, delivered the news of Willoughby’s exit from Jerusalem mid-broadcast.

Clips of the segment are being widely circulated on Twitter/X with many calling the transition “inappropriate” and “lacking sensitivity” to the situation in the Middle East.

Read more:

Sky News criticised for interrupting Israel coverage to report Holly Willoughby exit

Who is kidnap plot suspect Gavin Plumb?

Tuesday 10 October 2023 20:53 , Tom Murray

A man was remanded in custody last week over an alleged plot to kidnap and murder Holly Willoughby.

Gavin Plumb, a shopping centre security officer, is charged with soliciting a man named David Nelson to commit murder, and incitement to commit kidnap between 2 and 5 October in Harlow, Essex, when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Friday 6 October.

Plumb, 36, of Potters Field in Harlow, is accused of planning to assemble a “kidnap and restraint kit” and encouraging a third party to travel to Britain to carry out the alleged offences targeting the 42-year-old presenter.

A plea hearing is scheduled at Chelmsford Crown Court on 3 November.

Read more:

Security guard accused over alleged plot to kidnap and murder Holly Willoughby

ITV executive shares statement on Willoughby’s exit

Tuesday 10 October 2023 20:42 , Tom Murray

Managing director for media and entertainment at ITV Kevin Lygo said: “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 has brought her unique brand of warmth, energy, humour and fun to one of the country’s most popular daytime shows, and everyone on the programme will miss her enormously.

“She remains a much loved member of the ITV family and we look forward to continuing to work with her in the future.”