Holly Willoughby, who until recently was best known as the host of ITV’s daytime show This Morning, is set to return. But rather than return to ITV, she chose to launch a new lifestyle series, Holly Willoughby Together, on YouTube.
The show, which will premiere on July 28, is a multi-platform lifestyle series built around “real people, real stories, honest conversations, practical advice, celebrity guests, fashion, beauty, health and more”, which are clearly described as “the things Holly really loves”.
The show will consist of five components: in-depth coverage, cooking segments, fashion and beauty, health and wellness, and finally, “Hangouts” featuring celebrity guests such as Stanley Tucci, Emma Bunton and Katherine Ryan.
Two episodes will be released each week on YouTube, social media and “digital streaming platforms,” but a representative for Willoughby did not immediately respond to Variety’s questions about which episodes.
The show will be produced by her husband Dan Baldwin’s production company Hungry Bear Media, which also produces the hugely successful BBC entertainment show Gladiators.
The TV presenter said in a statement: “I’m so proud of the work that the whole team behind ‘Together’ has put into this exciting new project. We’ve had so much fun developing this exciting new project and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone’s thoughts.”
Willoughby became one of Britain’s most famous television personalities thanks to her hosting of ‘This Morning’. However, she finally left the show in 2023 after finding herself embroiled in a series of scandals, most of which were not her fault.
First, there was the “queue jumping” fiasco at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in 2022. At the time, the Queen’s long-time co-host Philip Schofield was accused of using his position to jump through a 14-hour queue to see the King lying in state. Soon after, in the spring of the following year, Schofield’s career collapsed in two parts. First when his brother went on leave while he was on trial (and found guilty) for sexually abusing a teenage boy, and a little later when it was revealed that Schofield had been having an inappropriate relationship with a young staff member at ITV.
Although Willoughby was not involved in any way, the breakdown of her personal and professional relationship with Schofield inevitably tarnished her previously golden reputation. After a short hiatus, he returned to This Morning in June 2023, but left the show permanently four months later after it was revealed that he had been the victim of a gruesome kidnapping and murder plot. The man was found guilty of plotting to kidnap, rape and murder the star in July 2024.
In the wake of the controversy, Willoughby has taken a break from television, except for a brief stint on Netflix’s “Celebrity Bear Hunt” with Bear Grylls last year, which was a huge flop and was quickly canceled after one season.
Mr Willoughby pivoted to YouTube as the digital platform increasingly dominated viewership in the UK and abroad. According to a recent report from British ratings agency Barb, YouTube has become a “key part of the UK’s AV ecosystem”. It also surpassed many of the UK’s biggest networks in terms of viewership.
