holly willoughby grandmother

Heartbreaking reason Holly Willoughby was absent from This Morning today

Our thoughts are with the This Morning star

Content Managing Editor
March 12, 2019

Holly Willoughby was notably absent from her presenting duties on This Morning, as she mourns the loss of her grandmother. On Tuesday morning, the TV star revealed that her "beautiful Nan" had passed away. Sharing a sweet selfie on Instagram, she wrote the heartbreaking caption: "Today we say goodbye for a little while to my beautiful Nan... go and be with Grandad... he's been waiting for you... love you... miss you..."

While Holly attended her grandmother's funeral, Rylan Clark-Neal stepped in to co-host the show with Phillip Schofield. Rylan confirmed the news on Instagram earlier this week, writing: "Hosting @thismorning tomorrow with @Schofe. The lucky devil." The pair acknowledged Holly's absence at the start of the show, with Phillip saying: "Holly's not here today, sadly her Nan has passed away. Today is the funeral so we're sending lots and lots of love to the whole family."

Holly's grandmother has sadly passed away

Holly was inundated with support from her fans and celebrity friends, who posted their condolences. Mark Wright replied with a blue heart emoji, while Holly's cousin and former EastEnders actress Tamzin Outhwaite wrote: "So sorry darling. Sending you lots of love." Lisa Snowdon also commented: "Sending love to you all. Nanas are the best." Bake Off winner Candice Brown shared a heart emoji.

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The Dancing on Ice co-host has previously shared photos of her Nan, celebrating her incredible 90th milestone last summer. On Instagram, Holly uploaded a picture of her grandma holding a dessert with the words Happy Birthday written in chocolate around the plate. "Yes Nanna Willoughby... 90 today! Love ya!" she wrote. Her grandmother looked much younger than her years, wearing a striped T-shirt, and her appearance was the subject of many comments from the TV presenter's fans.

A look at Holly's high-street style:

One wrote, "Good grief she looks so young. Amazing!" while another asked Holly: "Omg how is your nanna 90? She looks amazing." Many others commented on the resemblance between Holly and her grandma, with one writing: "Can see the resemblance. Great genes."

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It's clear family is everything to Holly. The 38-year-old has previously spoken about how much her husband Dan and their three children mean to her. Speaking to HELLO! last year, Holly admitted she puts her family first, saying: "That's the one thing I won't compromise on, having any regrets when it comes to the kids."

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