This Morning crew ‘breathed a sigh of relief’ after Holly Willoughby announced her shock exit as they plan to make a ‘fresh start’ without her

The This Morning team reportedly were left breathing a sigh of relief after Holly Willoughby announced her decision to quit the show.

The former host, 42, shared a statement on her social media last week revealing that she would be stepping down after 14 years on the show with immediate effect, after an alleged kidnap plot against her was foiled.

Holly left the daytime show for the sake of her family, after a turbulent year which saw her enveloped in the ‘queue-gate’ scandal and saw co-host Phillip Schofield quit the show following an affair with a colleague which he had lied about.

However, it wasn’t just Holly who was affected by the rocky year, as the This Morning crew reportedly felt the strain of the public backlash towards its hosts.

According to insiders at the show, the team felt there were also repercussions for them as the programme was thrown into the spotlight due to a string of scandals.

Reaction: The This Morning team reportedly were left breathing a sigh of relief after Holly Willoughby announced her decision to quit the show

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.

‘It felt like finally they can 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.’

They added that they are looking forward to turning a corner once the show is relaunched with a new set of presenters. 

Representatives for This Morning have been contacted for comment. 

It comes amid claims that Holly is no longer being poached by the BBC after suddenly quitting This Morning.

The rival broadcaster was believed to be doing everything they could to sign her to an exclusive golden handcuffs deal.

But according to The Sun all plans are now on hold in a bid to give the television personality ‘breathing space’.

Tough year: Holly left the daytime show for the sake of her family, after a turbulent year which saw her enveloped in the ‘queue-gate’ scandal and saw co-host Phillip Schofield quit the show following an affair with a colleague which he had lied about

Praise: They described exclusive golden handcuff deals as ‘few and far between’ and said Holly was being lined up to be a ‘major player’ with the BBC, praising her stint on the network’s show Freeze The Fear (pictured with show co-host Lee Mack) 

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’.

They described exclusive golden handcuff deals as ‘few and far between’ and said Holly was being lined up to be a ‘major player’ with the BBC, praising her stint on the network’s show Freeze The Fear.

‘But 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.’

MailOnline contacted Holly’s reps and BBC for comment at the time.

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

A source has now revealed to The Sun that the broadcaster has put ‘zero pressure’ on Holly to return to host DOI and are supporting her leave ‘as long as she needs’.

The editor of This Morning found out Holly was quitting the show just 20 minutes before she announced her exit on Instagram.

Martin Frizell was left blindsided by his star presenter’s shock announcement – which caused some of the staff on the ITV show to breakdown in tears.

According to the Mail on Sunday, Holly turned to ITV’s head of daytime Emma Gormley, over both the alleged plot against her as well as her future on the show.

In fact, despite Martin pinning his colours to Holly’s mast during her fall-out with Phillip— a long-standing friend of his — the television vet only found out she was to quit the show a mere 20 minutes before Holly’s 8.5 million Instagram followers did.

Former GMTV editor Martin had received an unexpected phone call shortly before 5pm on Tuesday in which he was told his greatest asset was quitting. 

He also learned she had prepared an emotional statement in which she was about to reveal she was leaving the show for the sake of herself and her family following the much-publicised alleged kidnap plot.

Easy does it: It comes after reports Holly Willoughby was ‘no rush’ to return to work in time for Dancing On Ice ‘s new series in January (pictured on the show in February) 

Resignation: The presenter took to Instagram to confirm she ‘will not be returning’ to the show

Surprise: Martin Frizell (left) was left blindsided by his star presenter’s announcement – which caused some of the staff on the ITV show to breakdown in tears (pictured with Holly and Phillip

Her words, which were put together entirely without the help of her one-time ‘rock’ Frizell, read: ‘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.

‘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.

‘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.’

Martin — usually unflappable according to his colleagues — was stunned. He had been assured Holly would be staying with This Morning for the foreseeable future.

Indeed, she’d only just signed a new contract, which saw her annual pay increase from £700,000 to around £1 million.

For Frizell, it was perhaps the worst possible way he could have parted company with Holly, the former golden girl of television.

Yet all his devoted attentions appeared to count for naught. ‘Despite Martin’s loyalty to Holly, he wasn’t in her inner sanctum when it really mattered,’ says a source close to the situation. ‘He sided with her throughout the difficulties with Phil and besides, it’s his show, but instead Holly dealt with Emma over it all.

‘Martin always spoke so highly of Holly. He adored her and he was extremely loyal.

‘It’s the talk of ITV that he was told so late on. It doesn’t exactly seem overly respectful. What a way to treat an editor.’

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