Holly Willoughby made her return to This Morning on Monday, after weeks of the show being rocked by the Phillip Schofield scandal.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that Schofield quit his role as co-presenter of ITV's flagship breakfast show, due to what he called an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a young male colleague.
Willoughby, Schofield's long-time friend and co-host, was back on the sofa on Monday with a speech to a British public that, well, appears to have gone down like a lead balloon.
Holly Willoughby statement
"Firstly, are you okay? I hope so," she began, while staring doe-eyed towards the camera. "It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil.
"I imagine that you lot have been feeling a lot like I have - shaken, troubled, let-down, worried for the well-being of people on all sides of what's been going on."
Holly continued for about a minute-and-a-half, but judging by the Twitter reaction, it was that opening line where she lost the attention of a lot of users, who have given it the meme treatment, with the best offerings compiled below.
Holly Willoughby memes
"Firstly, are you okay? I hope so." pic.twitter.com/HmQ7WimFNB
— Rev. A Mol (@RevAMol) June 5, 2023
“Firstly, are you okay? I hope so” pic.twitter.com/689aVUWch0
— Jenny O (@MsYellowHat) June 5, 2023
“Firstly, are you okay? I hope so” pic.twitter.com/hPQ9tUKDka
— Chris 🧻 (@_teletext) June 5, 2023
“Firstly, are you okay? I hope so” pic.twitter.com/bibBW9HJBE
— HappyToast★ (@IamHappyToast) June 5, 2023
“Firstly, are you okay? I hope so” pic.twitter.com/TA8qoNf05V
— ©ol (@Bigshirtlesscol) June 5, 2023
“Firstly, are you okay? I hope so” pic.twitter.com/IiYOPUaoxe
— peanut (@AmyLeMesmer) June 5, 2023
“Firstly, are you okay? I hope so.” pic.twitter.com/TUL3XKNGKv
— Gwdihŵ 🦉 (@youwouldknow) June 5, 2023
"Firstly, are you ok? I hope so." pic.twitter.com/NMChjjb0Mk
— Guy Bailey (@guyrbailey) June 5, 2023
‘Firstly, are you ok? I hope so.’ pic.twitter.com/uKeXMQTOsD
— Debra (@ddebralouise) June 5, 2023
"Firstly, are you OK? I hope so." pic.twitter.com/GxCtWWfHZJ
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) June 5, 2023
James Bond getting the wrong martini order pic.twitter.com/aKRf2iJ3pa
— Sophie Hall (@SophLouiseHall) June 5, 2023
Holly Willoughby describing what it’s like to be an Everton fan during the Farhad Moshiri ownership era. pic.twitter.com/OXuCKjVETH
— UpperGwladysBlue (@UpperGwladysBlu) June 5, 2023
The Morning Show similarities
It has also been alleged that Holly's speech was a little bit too similar to one made by Jennifer Aniston's character Alex Levy in the opening episode of AppleTV+ series The Morning Show.
In it, Alex's co-anchor Mitch Kessler is fired amid allegations of sexual harrassment, leading her to address the viewers with the words: "And to you at home, I understand how you must be feeling because I and the whole team here at The Morning Show are feeling the same way."
After weeks of controversy, This Morning now appears ready to move on into a new era, with Willoughby continuing to present, helped by the likes of Dermot O'Leary and Alison Hammond.
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