Dancing on Ice fans were left confused when they tuned in to see Phillip Schofield presenting the skating show by himself on Sunday night without a replacement for Holly Willoughby.
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The mum-of-three was forced to pull out of the show at the last minute after testing positive for coronavirus, leaving Phillip to host on his own.
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Viewers were quick to take to Twitter to complain about the presenting situation, pointing out that when Phillip was absent from the show, Stephen Mulhern stepped in to take his place.
One person wrote: "Why does Phil do DOI on his own and Holly had to have a male co-host misogynism!" while another added: "@dancingonice so how come Phil has to present alone, yet Holly co-presented with Stephen Mulhern when the Schof was off with covid?????"
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A third person commented: "I'm surprised someone isn't standing in for Holly, like when Phil had Covid!"
© Photo: RexViewers complained about Phillip hosting the show alone
Another fan defended the show's decision, suggesting that there wasn't enough time to find a replacement for Holly after her COVID-19 diagnosis: "They literally only found out a few hours before, so didn't have time to get a replacement. It's really not that deep."
A spokesperson from ITV has since released a statement to the Manchester Evening News, explaining why Phillip wasn't joined by a co-host on the show: "It's because it was too short notice which wasn't the case when Phillip was unable to host the show."
© Photo: InstagramPhillip addressed Holly's absence on Instagram
Following the announcement that Holly would be absent from the show, Phillip took to social media to express his disappointment. "Gutted that my mate won't be with me on @dancingonice tonight," he wrote alongside a selfie of the pair, adding: "Get well soon darlin," followed by a love-heart emoji.
The broadcaster then shared a video from backstage, showing his name on a marker on the studio floor, before zooming in on Holly's and panning to an empty spot next to him.
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