HOLLY Willoughby has spoken out for the first time since her Covid scare, telling fans “I chose not to alert everyone to this.”
The This Morning presenter got viewers in a panic this week after she missed three days of work with no explanation, leading many to speculate the reason why.
Trending In The News has now revealed Holly was forced to miss two days of work after two of her kids became ill and had to get tested for coronavirus.
Holly was also tested, despite having no symptoms, and the family received the all-clear last night – meaning the 39-year-old will be back in the studio on Monday.
Sharing an update with her fans, the mum-of-three posted a statement to her fans on Instagram, admitting she decided not to make the news public.
Holly wrote: “I chose not to alert everyone to this because my focus was on looking after them…
“Thankfully all tests came back negative and everybody’s feeling much better… see you Monday!”
Holly shares children Harry, 11, Belle, nine, and Chester, five, with producer husband Dan Baldwin.
In the message she thanked fans on Instagram writing: “Over the last few days two of our children were unwell and had symptoms of Covid.
“In line with government guidelines we were waiting for results of the tests before I return to work.
“Couple that with just wanting to look after two poorly children, it meant having two days away from This Morning.”
News of her scare ends days of frantic speculation after Alison Hammond and Davina McCall were called in at the last minute to replace her.
A source told Trending In The News earlier today: “Two of the children became really poorly at the start of the week, and came down with Covid-like symptoms.
“There was no question that Holly was going to go to work – she wanted to stay at home and just be a mum, looking after her kids.
“So they’ve all been isolating at home, awaiting their test results. Obviously it was a worrying time but Phillip [Schofield] and everyone at ITV was incredibly supportive.”
This Morning fans flooded social media in the wake of Holly’s absence this week, prompting a flurry of wild speculation as to where she was.
One fan tweeted after Davina filled in on Thursday: “Still no Holly then? Curiouser and curiouser. What’s the craic with holly then?”
Wednesday saw Alison Hammond taking the regular presenter’s place, with regular stand-in hosts Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford taking care of things on Friday.
