The career of Holly Willoughby has been predicted to come to an “end” as the fallout from Phillip Schofield’s This Morning scandal continues.
After Holly’s “cold” statement following Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning, she claimed Phil also lied to her about his affair. Holly admitted she was “hurt” by Phil’s admission. But many fans didn’t believe that Holly didn’t know about the affair. There have been continued calls for her to leave, including from former colleague Eamonn Holmes.
Now, PR and crisis management expert Edward Coram James from GoUp exclusively predicted to Entertainment Daily that the scandal could bring about the end of Holly’s TV career.
This Morning: Holly Willoughby has ‘helped burn down the house’
Edward speculated that Holly‘s short statement hasn’t helped her case after the scandal. Holly is set to return to the show after her half-term break on June 5. But many viewers still want her out. Edward explained that he thinks a better response from Holly initially could’ve prevented further drama.
He said: “A clear, measured, firm but empathetic and proportionate statement from her team early on could have helped set the narrative and allowed for the plane to come in for a bumpy but safe landing. Instead, her position has been vague. Her team has allowed the rumour mill to take control of the narrative.”
He added that Holly has been “engulfed” within Schofield’s scandal. He told us: “As a result, the story’s crash-landed. It has engulfed not only Schofield but Willoughby, the entire This Morning team and ITV in general. By failing to let cool heads prevail, it can be argued that Holly has managed to help burn down the house.”
The end of Holly’s career?
Edward also warned that Holly has little room to ever have any other scandals. He added: “For her personal reputation, one can only hope that she never has an extramarital affair with a colleague. She has boxed herself in and given herself little PR room to fall short of such moral standards in the future. If she ever does fall short, she will be judged harshly.”
It is very possible that this crisis will end the careers not only of Schofield and Willoughby.
Edward added that if Holly does leave This Morning, it could mark the end of her career. He also explained it could be the end for This Morning as a whole. He added: “It is very possible that this crisis will end the careers not only of Schofield and Willoughby, but it may also be the career undoing of a number of ITV execs and the curtain for This Morning.”
Edward speculated that “it did not need to be that way” and criticised ITV’s response to the scandal. He explained: “It will go down as a textbook example of how bad crisis communications can amplify a crisis when it should be pacifying it.”
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