Holly Willoughby's ITV co-star says 'she's where she belongs' after TV return

Holly Willoughby confirmed she would be returning to TV after three months away as she agrees to host the new series of Dancing On Ice, and one ITV star says it is the right move

Rory Gannon Showbiz Journalist

10:41, 29 Dec 2023

Holly and Phil make awkward blunder during Dancing on Ice live final

One of ITV 's most well-respected stars has broken her silence on Holly Willoughby 's return to TV, saying it was a good move.

Holly, 42, was confirmed on Thursday (December 28) to be returning to ITV after three months away from the station. After presenting This Morning for over fourteen years, Holly left the show in October, after a plot to kidnap and kill the presenter was discovered and foiled by police.

Now, Willoughby will make her big return to the silver screen next year as she agreed to reprise her hosting role on Dancing on Ice. She will be joined by Stephen Mulhern, who is replacing Phillip Schofield after he dramatically left the station in May after admitting to an affair with a much younger colleague.

And it seems that her fellow ITV colleague were giving Holly their full backing as the news went public. On Friday's edition of Good Morning Britain, Willoughby's confirmation to host the show was discussed amongst hosts Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley.

[Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley]

Ranvir said she was happy to see Holly make a return to TV(Image: BBC)

As part of the entertainment section looking at the must-see shows around New Year, Dancing on Ice was featured as the celebrities make their final tweaks to their routines before taking to the ice. As well as this, the team gushed over Holly as she gave the green light to her new gig.

Ranvir, 46, was particularly happy to see Holly come back to the station. Speaking about the news, she gushed: "It will be great to see Holly back where she belongs, we have missed her."

Holly, together with new Deal or No Deal host Stephen, 46, will return to host the show's fifteenth series after the show was rebooted in 2018. ITV has now confirmed that the programme will kick off on Sunday, January 14.

[Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern ]

Holly has been confirmed to host with Stephen Mulhern(Image: BBC)

This will be Holly's first public hosting gig since she quit This Morning after officers discovered a plot to kidnap and murder the mum-of-three. After the incident, Holly officially left the show, opting instead to focus on her family.

Speaking about the announcement, the head of entertainment at ITV Katie Rawcliffe said that the new pairing will mark "the start of an exciting year for the show". She explained: "Holly and Stephen are two of our best loved presenters, so reuniting them twenty years after they first appeared on screen together to host Dancing on Ice marks the start of an exciting year for the show."

In total, twelve celebrities are taking to the ice in the hopes of being crowned as the winner of the show. Amongst the famous faces in the line-up are Emmerdale 's Roxy Shahidi, Olympic long jumper Greg Rutherford and legendary boxer Ricky Hatton.

[Holly Willoughby]

This will be the first time in three months Holly has hosted a show(Image: Mike Marsland/WireImage)

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Gogglebox star Stephen Lustig-Webb was due to take part in the show as well, but sustained a bad injury to his leg whilst training which ruled him out of the programme. Scrambling to find a replacement, ITV bosses eventually convinced Olympic ski jumper Eddie the Eagle to compete and fill Stephen's spot.

Dancing On Ice airs on Sunday, January 14 on ITV1 and ITVX.

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