Holly Willoughby quits ITV’s This Morning after 14 years

The This Morning crew are said to have “breathed a sigh of relief” after Holly Willoughby’s departure as they plan to make a “fresh start” without the star.

Since the “queue-gate” scandal and Phillip Schofield’s affair revelation, the This Morning crew reportedly also felt the strain of the public backlash towards the two presenters.

A TV insider has claimed that the team felt there were repercussions for them as the programme was thrown into the spotlight after the string of scandals.

The source told The Sun: “It’s been a hell of a year for This Morning. It’s understandably taken a toll on the crew who have to work through some pretty tense and miserable times.

“When it was announced Holly would no longer be returning, everyone working backstage breathed a sigh of relief.

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“It felt like finally, they could get some normality back at work, having spent the last 12 months with morale at its lowest in years.

“The staff all still believe in This Morning and are rooting for its success,” adding that they look forward to turning the show around and relaunching with a new set of presenters.

Express.co.uk has contacted This Morning and Holly’s representatives for a comment.

Since Holly announced her departure from the show there have been claims the BBC are no longer intending to poach Holly from ITV.

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The rival broadcaster was claimed to be wooing her, but The Sun revealed the plans are on hold to give Holly some “breathing space”.

A source told the publication: “Holly isn’t going to be signed up on an exclusive deal for the BBC — or to be the face of any of their new shows — at this moment in time.

“After seeing everything that has unfolded over the past five months, the BBC want to give her some breathing space before making any offers.

“The ITV internal report into This Morning has still not been published either and the impact that could have also needs to be taken into consideration.”

Holly is apparently in “no rush” to return to work in time for Dancing On Ice’s new series in January.

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.

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