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Harry Hill mocks Holly Willoughby’s This Morning statement and quips about her living in ‘mixed reality’

‘This Morning’ was a hot topic on this week’s edition of the BBC One news comedy show

Nicole Vassell
Saturday 10 June 2023 16:43 BST
Holly Willoughby addresses Phillip Schofield controversy for the first time on This Morning

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Harry Hill took aim at Holly Willoughby’s return to This Morning during his first appearance on the BBC One news comedy show, Have I Got News For You.

The presenter and comedian hosted Friday’s edition (9 June) of the long-running quiz programme, which takes a humorous look at the stories of the week.

Unsurprisingly, Willoughby’s recent return to This Morning was a topic that was mentioned on several occasions.

While the presenter was on a two-week break from hosting the ITV morning magazine programme, her former co-host Phillip Schofield suddenly left the show with immediate effect.

He then admitted to having an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a “much younger” colleague while he was still married.

On Monday (5 June), Willoughby made her first appearance on This Morning since the scandal emerged and began with a speech to viewers that involved taking a “deep breath” before asking those watching: “Are you OK?”

Hill took the opportunity to spoof the moment at the start of Friday’s HIGNFY. First, he took a comically large deep breath before responding to her welfare check with: “I’ve got a bit of a bunged-up nose, but otherwise I’m fine.”

Harry Hill hosts Have I Got News For You
Harry Hill hosts Have I Got News For You (BBC One)

Later in the show, the 58-year-old host referred to the Dancing on Ice presenter as part of a report about a new piece of technology.

“Also this week, Apple have launched a revolutionary new headset at the cost of £2,800,” Hill said.

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“The Times have described the headset as allowing you to live in mixed reality. I guess like Holly Willoughby does,” he quipped, to which the audience responded with laughter.

Other panellists on the programme also chimed in with jokes about Willoughby’s opening statement. In a further clip, she went on to say: “I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have – shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on and full of questions.”

Satirist Ian Hislop replied: “I was just wondering if that was a cocktail: shaken, let down.

“I think the audience doesn’t feel anything except, well, ‘This is quite interesting, unlike the show normally’.”

Elsewhere, other celebrities who have torn into Willoughby’s speech include Amanda Holden and David Baddiel.

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