Holly Willoughby described herself as "shaken", "troubled" and "let down" as she returned to the This Morning sofa today.
A turbulent few weeks has seen Phillip Schofield lose his job as Willoughby's co-host on the daytime show after admitting to lying about an affair he had with a much younger colleague.
Willoughby has been on a half-term break while the worst of the saga has played out but returned today alongside stand-in host Josie Gibson, beginning the programme by addressing the issue head on.
"Deep breath - firstly, are you OK? I hope so," she said. "It feels very strange sitting here without Phil and I imagine 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.
"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.
"And from my own heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning. Myself, Josie, Dermot, Alison and Craig and every single person on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love."
Watch Willoughby's statement in full below:
Neil Wilkes
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