Holly Willoughby has revealed the shock news that she will not be returning to This Morning.
Giving up a reported £1million-a-year contract and the role of main presenter following the departure of Phillip Schofield was a brave but necessary decision for Holly, who cited her family as the main reason for her resignation.
While the star is expected to lay low for a while following the horrific news of a suspected kidnap and murder plot against her, ITV’s Golden Girl will no doubt be planning a comeback.
But will it be on camera? Twenty years on screen is an impressive milestone for the star, who began his career on children’s television, but after this year from hell, it could be time for a new chapter for the Willoughby brand.
Holly has been quietly moving behind the scenes for years, securing a lucrative life beyond the This Morning sofa.
New ventures: Holly Willoughby has revealed the shocking news that she won’t be returning to This Morning, but what’s next for ITV’s golden girl
Exit: Giving up a reported £1million-a-year contract and the role of main presenter following the departure of Phillip Schofield was a brave but necessary decision for Holly, who cited her family as the main reason
Although her exit was more sudden than anyone on the show could have hoped, her side projects will ensure that the star’s power remains stable.
Just last month, the star celebrated the two-year anniversary of her lifestyle brand Wylde Moon.
Branding and culture expert Nick Ede believes Holly will now make the brand her main focus.
“Once Holly feels more comfortable, I think she will most likely focus on her Wylde Moon brand and grow it even further,” he told Web.
“It’s a lucrative business that makes her a lot of money and it’s her passion project.”
Launched in 2021, Wylde Moon is Holly’s homage to Gwyneth Paltrow’s extremely powerful Goop brand – sending weekly inspirational newsletters to subscribers and releasing £65 candles that bring ‘Mother Nature’s magic’ into your home.
Holly posted a celebratory message on Instagram for her Wylde One costars last month, gushing that she “loves sharing with you all the things that make my heart sing…it’s been a place from day one.” , which felt important to me, and in the last two, “For years, that feeling just keeps growing.”
Wylde Moon’s Instagram account has 181,000 followers. Holly is said to have been inspired to create the brand after discovering her love of spirituality in Australia to present I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! back in 2018.
Passion project: Just last month, the star celebrated the two-year anniversary of her lifestyle brand Wylde Moon
Two months before her departure Down Under, Holly made headlines when she announced she was stepping away from Truly, a lifestyle brand founded by boyfriend Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones and of which she was set to be the face.
Just a week before the site was due to launch, she announced she was pulling out of the rumored £10 million deal, later telling Stella Magazine that juggling too many projects was too much for her .
“You can’t have it all.” “I’ve had the most incredible opportunities this year, but it’s also been overwhelming,” she explained.
“It was really something I had a huge passion for, but my husband has a really stressful and busy job and I have three children and other projects.” “My son Harry has been really into football and I want to be able to take him there “So she can do what he loves,” she said.
“I didn’t want to be able to work in the evenings and not be able to be with them.” It’s not just about me achieving my dream and having everyone fit in, but also about putting family first and to make this decision.”
Now, after leaving her daytime role on This Morning, Holly will have more time to devote to her passion project, which fits in with work between school runs, which has long been a priority for her.
Nick Ede says that due to the nature of the business, Holly doesn’t have to step directly into the spotlight, explaining: “It’s not as public, which means there’s less pressure on her and she can use her social media and her name to do that “To build a brand instead of personal appearances.”
Holly has three children with her husband, TV producer Dan Baldwin – Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester, nine – and has always prioritized her role as a mother.
Her hours on This Morning made it a working mother’s dream role, as she was able to pick up her children from school and take them to their evening playdates and clubs.
Then there were the school holidays afforded to her by ITV, with the star taking three months off each summer to head to the family villa in Portugal.
Would she be willing to eat up this precious family time by taking on prime-time television roles?
Prime time: It is not yet confirmed whether the star will be back in January as host of Dancing On Ice, the Saturday night show that launched her ITV career
It is not yet clear whether the star will return in January to host Dancing On Ice, the Saturday night show that launched her ITV career and her TV partnership with Phillip Schofield.
Kevin Lygo, managing director of media and entertainment at ITV, hinted that Holly could return in a statement released on Tuesday evening. He called her “a much-loved member of the ITV family” and said: “We look forward to continuing to work with her in the future”.
Holly won’t have long to decide whether she will return for the 2024 series, whose star-studded cast has already been announced.
When Holly returns to the big screen, she has made sure to rake in as much money as possible from her lucrative contracts.
Three years ago Holly left the showbiz agency she shared with former This Morning co-star Phillip and made plans to set up her own business.
Holly left YMU, previously known as James Grant, and has a number of big-name stars on her books including ITV superstars Ant and Dec.
She now manages herself through her own company Roxy Media Ltd, of which she and her husband are the sole directors – Holly owns 80 per cent of the shares and Dan owns the remaining 20 per cent.
The company reportedly has an all-female team.
Family: Holly has three children with her TV producer husband Dan Baldwin – Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester, nine – and has always prioritized her role as a mother
Power couple: Holly manages herself through her own company Roxy Media Ltd, of which she and her husband are the sole directors – Holly owns 80 percent of the shares and Dan owns the remaining 20 percent
Holly was reportedly appalled by YMU’s claim that they were entitled to a percentage of their future earnings due to a “sunset clause”.
Ede suggests now would be the perfect time for Holly to set up her management agency, telling Web: “I can see her setting up Roxy Management and taking on more talent, whether emerging or established, and her husband, a TV -Producer, creating a hub for talent. ‘Brand and content development.’
Dan, who already owns television production company Hungry Bear Media, has also launched a new company called HB Talent Agency.
In 2014, he co-founded his brand’s production arm – Hungry Bear Media – with colleague Juliet Denison and Dragons Den star Peter Jones.
Accounts obtained by Web in 2021 showed Hungry Bear Media had cash on hand of around £3.4m and assets of at least £1.8m at the end of 2020.
Holly has been working on shows with Dan through Hungry Bear Media for years, most recently last spring fronting Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof.
BBC show: Holly has been working on shows with her husband Dan for years through his production company Hungry Bear Media, most recently last spring fronting Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof
The show fit Holly’s Wylde Moon ethos and challenged eight celebrities to take on daunting, cold challenges designed to push their minds and bodies to the limit.
Freeze The Fear aired on BBC One, marking a significant departure from ITV for the star. Working with Dan’s production company would also give the star a lot more control over which passion projects she could choose.
Ede says it’s an exciting future for Holly, whose brand remains very much intact.
“Holly is in a very special position because she is the brand and people accept her and her lifestyle.”
“She is such a shining light on our screens and other lifestyles that I can see her building her brands into multimillion-dollar companies with global reach.”