ITV bosses eye ‘queen bee’ role for Holly Willoughby ahead of This Morning return

ITV bosses are set to make Holly Willoughby the ‘queen bee’ of This Morning ahead of her return to the show.

Willoughby, 42, is currently on her annual break from the show and has been away from the programme since early July.

Since then, Allison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary, Craig Doyle and Josie Gibson have been filling in for the presenter.

READ MORE: ‘Large’ number of ITV This Morning employees claim show is ‘bullying and toxic’

But ITV producers made the decision not to replace Holly’s former partner-in-crime Phillip Schofield after he dramatically left the show in May.

Despite Phil’s initial reason for leaving being to avoid constant rumours about falling out with pal Holly, it later came out that he had had an affair with a much younger colleague.

The affair took place whilst the former Cube host was still married to then-wife Steph.

After his exit from the show, questions were asked of who would replace him, having served with Holly since 2009.

But a TV source told Bella Magazine that higher-ups at ITV are not even looking for a replacement, instead opting to put Holly front and centre with a new ‘queen bee’ title.

“The idea of finding the next Phil to sit next to Holly has been disregarded by This Morning’s bosses. It will essentially be Holly’s show,” the insider said.

According to the source, Holly will be the main presenter with whichever rotating presenter is allocated to her.

“Bosses hope that they can put all of the Schofield behind them and start concentrating on the content of the show rather than the twosome presenting,” the source added.

Holly is due to return to the ITV show in September, and is said to have signed a new contract with a higher pay packet.

Phillip has tried to avoid the press at every opportunity after word of his affair went public.

After Schofield decided to leave ITV altogether following the debacle, it also left the door open for another hosting spot on Dancing On Ice, which is usually hosted by the duo.

A number of names have already been tipped to replace Phillip on the competitive ice skating show, including Jane McDonald and Stephen Mulhern.

Speaking to The Mirror, an insider said that Mulhern, who hosts Catchphrase on the channel, was the producers’ top choice.

For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up for one of our newsletters here.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk