This Morning fans confused as Holly Willoughby ‘goes missing’ from ITV show and is replaced by Alison Hammond
FANS were surprised to see Holly Willoughby missing as This Morning kicked off a new week.
The presenter, 42, has been replaced by Alison Hammond who’s taking over with Dermot O’Leary from today until Friday.
The Sun revealed yesterday that Holly quietly exited the ITV daytime show without informing fans.
She won’t be back until September after a two-month holiday.
After failing to appear on-screen today, one viewer asked: “Has Holly left for her summer break now?”
Someone else said: “Poor Holly must be hard working 2 and a half hours a day, 4 days a week, getting paid £700k a year in the process. She deserves the 8 week summer holiday break.”
Holly‘s disappearance follows a difficult few months for the presenter, 42, since her co-host Phillip Schofield‘s affair scandal was exposed.
She usually gives viewers a final farewell ahead of her annual summer break.
Holly and Phil have typically always worked five days on their last week before summer around this time of the month.
But as we revealed, Holly signed off the show as normal on Thursday without informing viewers she wouldn’t be seen again until autumn.
Last year, the former best friends shared gushing posts online about one another as they celebrated another year on This Morning, with Phil praising Holly as “the bestest human” and Holly adding: “And you my darling… Love you… See you soon handsome pants!”
The year before, Holly and Phil knocked back eight wines on their rare Friday slot before heading off abroad.
But Holly’s extended time off-screen this summer was brushed under the carpet, as she ended the show with a simple: “See you, bye”.
She had faced criticism from furious viewers on her last day after “sympathising” with Just Stop Oil activists.
Her comment was made just days after she and her husband Dan Baldwin took a helicopter from London to Glastonbury to join 200,000 other festival-goers – rather than get the train.
Two days later she suffered a family loss, revealing her beloved mother-in-law Sandra had passed away.
She is said to be spending time with her family as they privately deal with their grief.
It’s understood Holly’s scheduled time off was not brought forward.
A TV insider said: “Holly will return after a usual and planned break over the summer.
“Nothing has been pushed forward or changed over the weekend.”