Holly Willoughby breaks her silence moments after Phillip Schofield apologises to her for This Morning scandal

HOLLY Willoughby returned to social media last night after Phillip Schofield’s very public apology to her.

The 42-year-old shared a make-up free selfie from her holiday in Portugal on her wellness blog – Wylde Moon – just moments after Phil’s bombshell interview with The Sun broke.

In a sensational interview he apologised to his This Morning co-star for lying to her about his secret relationship — and for tainting her public image.

He told The Sun the pair have broken all ­contact — and reveals it was his paedophile brother’s imprisonment that made her distance herself from the friendship.

Phil said: “I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down (Holly). I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.

“Holly did not know (about the romance). And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.

“She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply, as well. So yeah. If anyone is in any way linking Holly to this; that is ­absolutely, wholly untrue.

“I had no feud with Holly. She is my TV sister. But quite rightly, when I am in the middle of a s**t show with bad press over something where I have done nothing wrong — in fact, I did everything right — it’s a witch hunt. And that strips that (friendship) away.

“Quite rightly, she is going to take a step back and think, ‘I have to step back from this’, and I understand that completely.

“As we see now, this is a vicious game and the last thing you want is for something to stick on you.

“It was becoming bigger than the people we had on the show. I understand that.”

Holly has jetted away to Portugal with her family for a break but is expected to return to the This Morning sofa on Monday.

In her latest post she avoided the recent conflict and instead the post was captioned: “We all love the sunshine, but it can do some sneaky damage to our hair if we don't protect it.

“Holly's hair-guru @cilerpeksah_hairstylist is here with her professional tips to make sure your hair stays safe all summer long. Tap the link in bio to see how to protect yours from the sun, the sea, and the swimming pools.”

Her fans rushed to offer her support and well wishes during the difficult time.