Awkward moment Holly Willoughby hands over to Ruth Langsford on ITV hours after Eamonn Holmes insult

Holly Willoughby was forced to share a screen with Ruth Langsford just hours after the 42-year-old was called a “big mouth” by Langsford’s husband, Eamonn Holmes.

The 42-year-old presenter return to This Morning after two weeks off on Monday and addressed her former co-host Phillip Schofield’s scandal alongside Josie Gibson.

Before the ITV darling admitted she was “shaken, troubled and let down” by Schofield, her former colleague Holmes was on GB News taking aim at her.

The Northern Irish presenter said on his breakfast show: “You think she’s got a big mouth? She won’t be using it today.”

Following his comments, viewers watched as Willoughby and Langsford shared the screen previewing what was coming up on Monday’s Loose Women.

The presenter said with a smile after interviewing Adam Lambert: “It is time now to find out what Loose Women are talking about today, hi there Ruth.”

Willoughby shared the screen with Ruth Langsford during her return (ITV)

To which, Langsford chirpily replied: “Hiya, we love Adam Lambert too! Mwah, mwah, mwah to him!

“Coming up on Loose Women, we’ll be exposing the big social media exam scam that could be affecting your children or your grandchildren. Also, here’s a question – is it ever okay to take off your wedding ring during a row?

Langsford also introduced guests Anton Du Beke and Leona Lewis, before adding: “Great guests, great show – as always! See you at 12.30!”

Willoughby then rounded off the link and said: “We’ll see you then, thank you very much!”

Viewers saw the star return to This Morning s after the shock departure of her former co-host and the revelation of his affair with a younger ITV male employee.

Directly addressing viewers, she began: “Deep breath,” before admitting it felt strange being on the series without her former colleague.

The TV star continued: “Firstly, are you ok? I hope so. It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil…

“I imagine you might have been 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.

Story continues

The presenter returned to the show alongside Josie Gibson (ITV)

“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 they loved.

“That is a lot to process, and it’s equally hard to see the toll that it has taken on their own mental health,” Willoughby added.

“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.

“From my heart, can I say thank you for all of your kind messages and thank you for being here this morning. Myself, Josie, Dermot, Alison, Craig and every single person who works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you the show that we love.”

Following her statement, many took to social media to brand it “insincere”, “Oscar-worthy”, “fake” and an “acting fail”.

Amid the onslaught of negativity directed at the presenter, This Morning viewers rushed to her defence on Twitter and insisted she would have “been vilifed” no matter what she did.

One penned: “Let’s be honest, no matter what Holly Willoughby said in her statement on This Morning and no matter how she said it, she will have been vilified.”

“If you don’t believe Holly Willoughby, then change the channel,” another shared on Twitter. “Not that hard. I for one, support her 100% and wish her the best in what is a tough situation.”

A third added: “Why is there such a witch hunt for Holly Willoughby? You’d think she was on trial for murder with some of the tweets I’m seeing”.

The social media commentary comes after Schofield said he “didn’t tell anybody” about his affair with his former This Morning colleague, confirming Willoughby “did not know” in a tell-all interview with BBC’s Amol Rajan.

Similarly in his interview with the Sun, the 61-year-old presenter apologised to Willoughby for lying to her about his relationship, saying: “I’ve lost my best friend”.

The duo, who had presented the show together since 2009 and also co-hosted Dancing On Ice before Schofield resigned from ITV, had been open about their close friendship over the years.

Willoughby’s return comes as the ITV show has been plagued by allegations of “toxicity”, including from former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes who has alleged there was a “total cover-up” over the Schofield affair.

The show’s former resident doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, also hit out at a “toxic” culture, saying he raised concerns about “bullying and discrimination” two years ago when he worked there and afterwards felt like he was “managed out” for whistleblowing.

In a letter from ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall to Parliament on Wednesday, she said an external review conducted following a complaint made by Dr Ranj found “no evidence of bullying or discrimination”.

Meanwhile, former This Morning head of news Emily Maddick, who worked on the show from September to December 2019, claimed she quit the programme due to “bullying, sexism and a toxic culture of fear and intimidation”.

On Saturday, This Morning editor Martin Frizell told a Sky News reporter to “read between the lines” amid claims of toxicity, adding: “I think there’s some scores being settled.”

Dame Carolyn has been called to a parliamentary committee on June 14 to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling following Schofield’s exit.

On Wednesday, she confirmed the broadcaster had instructed barrister Jane Mulcahy KC of Blackstone Chambers to carry out an external review of the facts.