Holly blasted over big bucks contract

As Holly Willoughby faces criticism over a rumoured new deal with This Morning, new looks at how Josie Gibson is stepping out from her shadow into the limelight

- Mitya Underwood

Presenter Holly Willoughby faced fresh backlash last week amid reports she’s set to sign a lucrative new deal with This Morning.

Talk of the proposed deal comes just weeks after rumours circulated that Holly, 42, was ready to quit the show for good following the exit of her co-presenter Phillip Schofield, 61.

Now, the reports of a potential uplift in Holly’s salary, should she stay on, have prompted a barrage of criticism, with some blasting it as “disgusting”, especially with the country in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

One online commenter said Holly would be “laughing all the way to the bank”, while another slammed the move at a time “when so many people struggle to pay their way and work full time on minimum wage”.

But PR expert Mark Borkowski told new it’s only right that Holly should be handsomely rewarded if ITV show bosses want her to steady the rocky This Morning ship. After her summer break, Holly is expected to return as the show’s main anchor, joined by a rotating list of co-hosts such as Josie Gibson, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

Mark said it’s understandable that Holly’s pay rise has incensed some members of the public at a time when many people are nearly reduced to having to “heat cans of beans with candles”. But he added, “What’s Holly expected to do? Like footballers, TV personalities often have a very, very short shelf life.

“She’s also got a team of people working for her, from lawyers to managers, stylists to publicists to social media managers. She’s got to pay all those people to stay at the top.”