Holly Willoughby was stunned as Phillip Schofield admitted he once fobbed off This Morning bosses and pulled a “snow day” to get out of work.
As the duo opened the show on National Sickie Day, Schofield admitted that, while he hadn’t pretended to be sick to skive work, he had pretended to be snowed in to get the day off presenting the magazine show.
Schofield confessed: “I don’t think I’ve ever pulled a sickie but I pulled a fake snow day…”
Willoughby exclaimed: “Did you? On this show? Have you just admitted that?!”
“Yeah, I could have got in. This was 2011. I played in the snow,” he explained as the producer appeared to confirm in his ear that they remember the day.
“The girls were off [but] they could have got to school as well and I said ‘oh I’m sorry I can’t get out’.
Willoughby giggled but admitted she had her own “sick” day story a long, long time ago on a Friday so she could jet off on a boozy weekend abroad.
However, the 37-year-old was caught out by a foreign ring tone that she “forgot about” despite coughing and spluttering her way through the phone call to make it seem legitimate.
Just before the mischievous presenters explained today’s phone-in, Schofield joked that his co-host at the time, Fern Britton, was “furious” and that he pretended the weather was worse where he was.
National Sickie Day falls on the first Monday of every February, claiming to be the day more people than usual call in sick.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10.30am on ITV.
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