Richard Madeley has praised Holly Willoughby for doing "a very brave, wise and courageous thing" after she quit 'This Morning'.
Richard Madeley praises 'brave, wise and courageous' Holly Willoughby for quitting This Morning
The 67-year-old TV presenter - who co-hosted the brunchtime show with his wife Judy Finnigan for 13 years from 1988 to 2001 - insisted Holly "genuinely puts her family first", and he thinks she has done "exactly the right thing for her own mental health" by departing the programme after 14 years.
He told 'Good Morning Britain': "I think, and Judy agrees with me, we were talking about this when we heard the news yesterday afternoon, that Holly has done a very brave, and wise and courageous thing.
"We know, here in the building, that Holly genuinely puts family first. She puts her family first, and her career second. That really is the order.
"People watching don't know that. They just see Holly the professional.
"I think given the year that she's had, all the things she's had to put up, and then this terrible thing that happened last week, that we can't talk about because it's under law ... given that she's done the show for 14 years, which is a year longer than Judy and I did it, I think it's give her a chance to step back and take stock.
"And she's put her family first. She's going to focus on them for a while.
"She'll come back. Not to 'This Morning'. But she'll come back to something else on telly.
"I think she's done exactly the right thing. For her own mental health, as much as anything else."
Holly - who has 13-year-old son Harry, 11-year-old daughter Belle, and eight-year-old Chester with her husband Dan Baldwin - has been absent from the programme since last week, when a man was charged with soliciting to commit murder over an alleged plot to kidnap the TV presenter.
Richard has admitted she "would've been shaken" by the events.
He said: "It wasn't just some random threat online.
"There was some substance to it, to the extent that a man is in custody. Clearly, she would've been shaken by that."
Also this year, Holly saw her former 'This Morning' co-host Phillip Schofield quit the show after admitting he lied to bosses about an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague.
Holly confirmed she had quit the programme on Tuesday afternoon (10.11.23), and she referenced Richard and Judy in her departure statement.
She wrote on Instagram: "Richard and Judy said 'we only look after this show, it will always belong to the viewers'."
On Wednesday (11.10.23), Richard insisted 'This Morning' will indeed go on without Holly, because it's the content and format "that matters".
Speaking to Susanna Reid and Ed Balls on 'GMB', he said: "When we left a lot of people said, 'That's the end of 'This Morning', because it is Richard and Judy.'
"It was obviously very flattering, but we knew it wasn't true. Because the show isn't about the faces, the presenters, it's about the format.
"Obviously the presenters have to know what they're doing, but it's the content and format that matters.
“It will carry on."
Susanna concluded the interview by wishing Holly luck.
She said: "We send her all our very best. We really do. Good luck, Holly. Whatever you do, massive success. And lots of love to your family, too."
Tagged in Holly Willoughby Judy Finnigan Richard Madeley