Morning Show Duo Leave Fans Shocked After Announcing Break

It’s common for American daytime and late-night television hosts to take a break during the holiday season, but when two U.K. morning show hosts announced their plans to do the same on Dec. 10, they surprised viewers. Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, the hosts of ITV‘s This Morning, made a surprise appearance on Friday to announce they are both going on a break until their special Christmas Day episode. The show’s Friday episodes are typically hosted by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, prompting Willoughby to assure their viewers they didn’t wake up on the wrong day when they tuned in.

“Good morning, hello, welcome to Friday’s ITV This Morning. It’s Friday. Yes, Friday. You haven’t woken up on the wrong day,” Willoughby told viewers at the top of the show, notes BirminghamLive. “It is a special This Morning today. We have a special show for you.” Schofield then explained that the Dec. 10 episode would be their last of 2021, aside from their special show on Christmas Day.

When This Morning returns on Monday, Josie Gibson and Vernon Kay will sit in for Willoughby and Schofield. Gibson is familiar to This Morning viewers as she co-hosted last month when Willoughby was out sick. Kay was also set to join the show in August, but his introduction was postponed after he tested positive for COVID-19, reports Digital Spy.

At the end of Friday’s episode, Schofield thanked the behind-the-scenes team at This Morning. “We just wanted to say a big thank you to the wonderful This Morning team – they have been here through the good times, the challenging times, and everything in between,” he said. “We literally couldn’t have done it without them. And thank you so much for watching.”

There were rumors that Willoughby would be leaving This Morning, but she has no plans to. “I feel very lucky to be on that show. The show changes so much, I think that’s the beauty of This Morning,” she said on The Jonathan Ross Show. “I’m very lucky to work with Phil. I can’t imagine a world without him being there. The magic of that show is us two together when we’re together. So, not, I’m not retiring.”

The show recently lost Eammon Holmes, who joined GB News after 15 years at ITV. “I’ve admired GB News from the beginning for its clever mix of punchy debate but delivered with warmth and even some fun,” Holmes said in a statement last week. “To me, the greatest honor in journalism is to give a voice and respect to the unheard, and that’s exactly what GB News is all about.”