This Morning breaks silence on Phillip Schofield as star will be missing from sofa for weeks

THIS MORNING has broken its silence on Phillip Schofield as he is set to be missing from the sofa for weeks.

The TV star has been missing from the daytime programme since Monday while his brother stands trial.

And while Phillip, along with Holly, is now understood to be off for the next two weeks as Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary take over hosting duties during the Easter holidays, the show's official instagram paid tribute to him today.

The presenter turns 61 today (April 1) and the ITV hit sent him a special message.

"Happy birthday @schofe, from everyone at This Morning" read the post.

It was accompanied by a picture of a smiling Phil on the show's famous set as a confetti effect fell around him.

The snap was accompanied by several other pictures of Phil laughing with co-stars Holly and Alison.

Phil's younger brother Timothy Schofield, 54, has been accused of 11 charges of interfering with a child.

The alleged offences took place between October 2016 and October 2019. He denies the charges.

This week Holly, 42, has taken charge alongside a rotation of stand-in presenters.

On Monday, she was joined by Alison, 48, and the all-female pairing was hailed by viewers.

Wednesday and Thursday saw her paired up with The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett.

On Friday, This Morning revealed that Holly and Phil will be replaced from Monday by Alison and Dermott, who are regular presenters on Fridays, over their usual two-week Easter break.

The announcement was made during an advert break with Alison and Dermot appearing in a flashback clip on the famous sofa.

Holly later confirmed she would not be returning for "a few weeks."

At the end of Thursdays show she turned to Joel and said: "Well Joel Dommett, you have been amazing, have you enjoyed it?"

"It has been an absolute dream," he replied.

"Thank you for showing me everything these last few days."

Holly waved to the camera and told viewers: "I'm off for Easter, I'll be back in a couple of weeks. Bye!"

Fans reacted to Joel taking Phil's spot for a second day in a row, and one said: "Hell yeah!"

Another wrote on Twitter: "You made a good team xxx."

However, a third added: "Where b Phil. Like Alison , Like Joel but Holy n Phil are like Roast Beef n Yorkie puds."