After months of speculation about what her next career move will be, Holly Willoughby is returning to the world of presenting with an unexpected new role.
The broadcaster, who last appeared on screen on 9 March 2025 for the Dancing on Ice final, will co-host a King’s Trust 50th anniversary event on Thursday 12 March alongside US actor Stanley Tucci. King Charles III will be in attendance at the event, which will be screened online.
The royal appointment marks a public return for the former This Morning star, 45, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years. Holly stepped back from the ITV daytime show in October 2023 after 14 years at the helm, when a plot to kidnap and murder her came to light.
Her departure came just five months after her former friend and co-star Phillip Schofield left due his ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger colleague.
Speaking about her comeback, a source said, “Holly’s had a year off everything by choice, with no screen work and barely any celeb events. The King’s Trust anniversary is a top-level booking and sets her stall for the next chapter of her career. It also marks her return to the royal fold after the PR disaster that was ‘Queuegate’.”
In September 2022, Holly and Phil sparked backlash when they were accused of ‘jumping’ the 16-hour queue to see the late Queen Elizabeth II lying in state.
While ITV said they were there in a 'professional capacity as part of the world's media to report on the event', it didn’t go down well with fans - with many noting fellow broadcaster and ITV daytime presenter Susanna Reid queued for seven hours.
A petition calling for the mum-of-three to be removed from This Morning later gained more than 60,000 signatures,
Holly has been associated with The King’s Trust - formerly The Prince’s Trust - for over a decade, previously saying she was a ‘proud ambassador’ of the charity.
She and co-host Stanley, who is reprising his role as Nigel in The Devil Wears Prada 2 in May, first met in 2023 at Buckingham Palace alongside the King.
The King’s Trust’s 50th anniversary celebration is going ahead as planned as the royal family ‘keep calm and carry on’ amid the ongoing enquiry into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct in public office. He was arrested on his birthday last month before being released under investigation.
