Lorraine Kelly has revealed her surprise over Phillip Schofield's exit from ITV in May 2023, months before Holly Willoughby's shock decision to quit This Morning.
Phillip, 61, left ITV after he admitted to an "unwise, but not illegal" relationship with a junior member of staff – and has yet to reveal what the future lies ahead of him.
"If you'd told me at the start of [last] year that Holly and Phil wouldn't be [on This Morning], I wouldn't have believed you," the ITV chat show host told Woman & Home magazine. "But you know what? The show will continue. She'll be fine. He'll be fine. Eventually. It will all be OK."
Lorraine added: "They're good people. I miss them. They're smashing, they made me laugh a lot and every time I was on This Morning as a guest, they were a delight."
Phillip had been a firm favourite for many years. He joined This Morning in 2002 where he presented the show with Fern Britton until her departure in 2009, with Holly becoming his co-presenter.
Holly, 42, announced her decision to leave This Morning in October shortly after a kidnapping plot against her was uncovered. Gavin Plumb, 36, from Harlow, Essex was accused of soliciting to murder and incitement to kidnap the presenter. As a result, Holly made the difficult decision to quit her day job for the sake of her family.
"I have let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning," she said in a statement. "To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so so much.
"This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we've done together. Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive."
She added: "To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you. Most of all, thank you to the wonderful viewers. You've been so loyal, so supportive and the very best company every day."
The mum-of-three concluded the message with: "It's been an honour to just be part of its story and I know this story has many chapters left to go. Sadly, however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family. I will miss you all so much."
Although she is no longer presenting This Morning, Holly returned to our TV screens at the start of the year to host Dancing on Ice alongside Stephen Mulhern.