Holly Willoughby meets the King after leaving This Morning early: Presenter laughs with Charles at Buckingham Palace after awkward kiss with Phillip Schofield on the sofa amid claims he’s facing axe over pair’s feud
Holly Willoughby laughed with the King today at Buckingham Palace after she left This Morning early.
It came after Holly, 42, shared an awkward kiss with Phillip Schofield before leaving him to host the end of This Morning alone as the warring pair did their best to present a united front.
Holly announced she would be heading off early so she could go to Buckingham Palace to introduce the winners of the Prince’s Trust Awards to King Charles.
She was beaming as the King spoke to her and American actor Stanley Tucci.
The trio were in stitches just hours after Holly and Phil, 61, embraced and kissed each other on the cheek on This Morning, prompting viewers to praise them for their ‘Oscars-level performance’.
Holly Willoughby laughed with the King today at Buckingham Palace as the monarch met American actor Stanley Tucci
Holly was seen at the Palace alongside Stanley Tucci as she introduced the winners of the Prince’s Trust Awards to King Charles
Holly announced she would be heading off early from This Morning so she could go to Buckingham Palace to introduce the winners of the Prince’s Trust Awards to King Charles
Holly wore pale yellow heels and a daffodil-coloured dress as she met King Charles III today
Body language expert Judi James called the moment ‘rather awkward’, adding that it was ‘instigated by Holly after a flurry of shyness signals that included stroking her hair and placing one hand over her mouth as she giggled’.
The duo have failed to address their rift since returning to This Morning, but it’s been rumoured Phil faces the axe if they are unable to reverse a decline in viewing figures.
Holly was on presenting duties at the Prince’s Trust Awards in London last night, while Phil attended the London Wine Fair.
Charles invited those recognised during Tuesday’s Prince’s Trust awards to the palace along with the celebrities who presented the honours, including Hollywood star Stanley Tucci, British actor Stephen Graham, Edward Enninful, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, musician and producer Nile Rodgers and the event’s hosts Ant and Dec.
At one point the King was left amazed when he took part in a magic trick performed by magician Dynamo, whose big break came after he was awarded a Prince’s Trust grant.
At the start of today’s This Morning episode, Phil lauded his co-star for her glamorous look at the ceremony, before she announced her surprise engagement.
‘I have put my posh dress on today because later on this afternoon I am heading to Buckingham Palace and there the King will be and we will get to introduce the winners,’ she said.
So you are off midday-ish and I am holding the fort?’ asked Phil, to which Holly replied: ‘Yes you are, thank you very much.’
Fans took to social media to joke that Holly ‘looked happy’ to be able to leave the episode early.
One wrote: ‘Given the, erm, *circumstances* I reckon Holly jumped at the chance to knock off half an hour early.’
A second said: ‘No wonder Holly looks happier. She gets to leave early.’
Analysing today’s episode, Ms James said Phil appeared ‘more relaxed’ than he did on the previous two shows.
She told MailOnline: ‘His pose was all casual angles, from the tilted head and shoulders to the bent knee and the asymmetric smile, and his hands looked as though they were hanging casually from his pockets rather than being stuffed there.
‘In contrast, Holly’s pose looked straight to attention, with her torso upright and her arms straight to her sides.
‘She looked shocked at Phil’s sudden, playful ”Tell me all about it!”, which came with a dramatic circling of the head and a lift of the brows as he twisted his neck at a 45-degree angle to look back at her in a wide-opened-eyes stare.
‘Holly’s ”I had a lovely day yesterday” received another flattering comment from Phil that looked overkill enough to hint at a teeniest dab of sarcasm. ”You looked gorgeous’,’ came with a raised chin and closed eyes.’
Ms James noticed another change in the pair’s body language when Holly announced she was leaving early for the Palace.
Viewers jokingly praised the online duo for their ‘Oscars level performance’
‘Holly clasped her hands in a barrier gesture here but her pulled-in-chin smile suggested self-pride while Phil flashed a rather forced-looking grin in her direction.
”’It’s fine” he told the camera, with the corners of his mouth curling down.’
The body language expert said the duo’s behaviour during a section of the show about lawncare – which prompted several suggestive jokes – was particularly notable.
‘As Holly bent to peer at the video clip from the garden she nudged Phil quite hard with her elbow as though either sharing a joke or inviting him to mirror her,’ she said.
‘Were they indulging in a nudge-fight? If so it could signal two options, either a sighting of a tiny scuffle or a moment of genuine shared and private fun between the couple.
‘Phil did seem to laugh first before she nudged him, which would suggest the shared fun option.
‘This is the first time the pair have performed a fun tie-sign of private humour shared between them since all the rumours started.
‘It led to a one hand on the hip pose from Holly to suggest a reboot of some feelings of power and then some more authentic-looking shared giggles as Phil asked her if she’d been gardening.’
Holly left Philto present the end of This Morning alone today as their reported feud continues
Holly, 42, appeared on the ITV breakfast show alongside her co-host Phillip, 61, but confirmed she would be leaving the show earlier than usual
Holly attended The Prince’s Trust Awards, but Phillip, an ambassador for the charity, was nowhere to be seen.
Phillip opted to visit the London Wine Fair to support a brand he collaborates with, When in Rome Wine
The pair have failed to address their rift on air, but 170,000 fewer viewers watched Monday’s episode compared to the previous week amid claims the pair seemed ‘awkward’.
Concern about the breakfast programme’s future has prompted speculation about an upcoming shake-up, with insiders claiming Phil could be forced out along with top producer Martin Frizell.
Speaking to The Sun, a source said: ‘This Morning is preparing for some seismic changes this summer – Phil is lined up as the first major name for the chop when his contract expires this summer. Seeing the reaction of This Morning viewers has been a wake-up call.’
But PR expert Mark Borkowski played down the chance of any imminent personnel moves, saying ITV would seek to ‘ride out the cyclone’.
He told MailOnline: ‘I think ITV and programme bosses will indeed take a long hard look at the presenters.
‘Perhaps it’s a time to change and regenerate with two fresh faces. But don’t write any obits just yet.
‘Viewing figures fluctuate and I’m sure bosses will be looking at a long term aggregates.
‘The issue is to look at all the options and no bow to social media surges.’
Today’s show opened with a segment about how to care for your lawn
Mr Borkowski branded the scandal ‘a storm in a tea cup’ and added: ‘The whole fuss proves how valuable the format is to ITV.’
One reported cause of the fallout was due to Phil allegedly not telling Holly about his brother Timothy’s trial for child sex offences.
Timothy was convicted and is awaiting sentencing.
During the trial, Phil took a three-week break from This Morning and publicly rejected his brother.
Last week, Phil released a statement about their friendship without first consulting Holly, which is also said to have affected the relationship.
Figures revealed Monday’s episode had an average of 726,720 people watching compared to 894,000 on the same day last week.
Peak viewership was also significantly down at 914,000 compared to 1.058million on May 8.
Phil leaves his home today to head to the This Morning studios in London
By contrast, the duo pulled in 1.3million viewers for their 2022 Christmas show and an average of 1.4million in the first four weeks of 2021.
Senior figures at ITV called a crisis meeting following a wave of negative social media feedback about Monday’s show.
After seeing the reaction on Twitter, with viewers panning both Holly and Phil, ITV bosses are pondering what to do next.
One source told the Daily Mail: ‘Social media is used as a barometer to see what the public think.
‘Those in charge were left under no illusion that it was a total disaster.
‘It was painful for the This Morning team to work on and it was just as painful for them to watch.
‘There was a meeting afterwards to discuss how it went.
‘That went on for some time.
‘To be honest, everyone was just so relieved to get it over with, but even if the show does continue to go on for some time, it will continue to be a massive headache.’
It comes as a relationship expert who has appeared on This Morning launched a blistering attack on Phil, calling him the ‘monster of daytime TV’.
Appearing on GB News, Louise Van Der Velde called for him to be axed and said she found him ‘arrogant’ and ‘fake’.
She told host Dan Wootton: ‘My outlook has always been, whenever I am on, to be respectful to people and you kind of expect the same treatment back.
‘With Phil, he is like this monster of daytime TV. He is rude, people have to sit still and speak when they are spoken to – it’s just a very aggressive attitude.
‘No matter how nice I have been, he has been arrogant. He is all nice and all smiles for the camera and jolly…
‘But frankly he is fake and it’s time he got the boot.’
Phil, who has hosted the show since 2002, could be forced out along with top producer Martin Frizell (left)
