ITV This Morning to have a ‘rotation of co-hosts’ alongside Holly Willoughby

Holly Willoughby will present ITV’s This Morning without a permanent co-host after the Philip Schofield scandal, it was claimed today. The 42-year-old will instead be joined by rotation of stars including Dermot O’Leary, Alison Hammond, Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle.

Mum-of-three Holly is currently on a family holiday in the Algarve and will return to work in September after signing a new deal, according to the Daily Mail. The contract is likely to be more lucrative than her current £700,000 package and will see her presenting from Monday to Thursday each week.

The new style on This Morning would be similar to Good Morning Britain, where Susanna Reid has been the main star since Piers Morgan walked out two years ago. Susanna is joined by a rota of Richard Madeley, Ed Balls and Martin Lewis on Monday to Wednesday’s episodes with Ben Shepherd, Kate Garraway and Ranvir Singh filling in during the back end of the week.

The Daily Mail claimed Alison Hammond, 48, was unable to commit to presenting This Morning four days a week, leaving Holly as “Queen Bee,” in a bid to avoid any disagreements between hosts.

An insider told the paper: “The idea of finding the next Phil to sit next to Holly has been disregarded by This Morning’s bosses. It will be Holly along with whichever rotating presenter is selected to join her. It will essentially be Holly’s show.

“Bosses hope that they can put all of the Schofield scandal behind them and start concentrating on the content of the show rather than the twosome presenting it. At least this way there won’t be any falling out.”

The Mail on Sunday claims This Morning had faced the axe after Philip Schofield admitted he had an affair with a much younger colleague – and then lied about it. Holly however is now expected to return to work and pen a new deal after an extended break.

Co-stars Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond have stepped in to cover Holly, from Monday to Friday.