Holly Willoughby wore white to show her innocence', Judi James reveals trends now
Holly Willoughby deliberately wore white to convince ITV viewers of her 'innocence' before a 'saccharine' speech aimed at showing it is business as usual on This Morning despite Phillip Schofield's departure, a body language expert claimed today.
The star, 42, was on screen for the first time since Phil quit with Josie Gibson acting as her 'bodyguard' and 'carer' as they held back tears, held hands and hugged, behaving like 'survivors of a disaster', Judi James has said.
Ms James said that Holly has tried to make herself the central star of the show - and steer This Morning out of the scandal - but try as she might she couldn't hide her tension and anxiety.
Her speech was 'religious in tone', Judi said, as she tried to connect with viewers, asking if they were ok after the turmoil of the past fortnight.
She said: 'Could Holly’s intro speech steer the This Morning show back into the world of saccharine sweetness after the ongoing dark dramas? Wearing white to promote innocence and with Josie sitting beside her like a protective carer might sit beside the survivor of some disaster, Holly immediately grasped Josie’s hand before launching into her speech.
Holly Willoughby was back on the This Morning sofa and has tried to give the impression it is business as usual
Holly tried to be 'perky' after her speech - but the tension was clear, Judi said
Josie behaved like Holly's minder, Judi said
'A sigh and a puff of air from the mouth announced inner tension. Her ‘Are you ok?’ to her audience threw out the opportunity to share in the trauma. We have been feeling a lot like Holly, according to her, and she clearly wasn’t referring to her beach holiday.
'Her breathing sounding stressed as she used words like "shaken" and "troubled", performing an in-breath of regret when she mentioned the toll on "Phil’s mental health".
'Becoming almost religious in tone she spoke about "What unites us is a desire to heal" and "Strength in each other".
'Holly illustrated this deep emotional experience theme by placing both hands on her chest, over her heart to throw love out for "All you kind messages". She held Josie’s hand again for support as the "Show we love" line came out again.
'There was the hint of a backflip into the perkiness of the show but Josie went for the enforced hug and it was the sort of hug that made them look like survivors, lasting beyond the normal one or two seconds. It was Holly who did the ‘break’ patting.
'Then came the ultimate signal of business as usual. A big ‘Oh so...’ from Josie and Holly smiled and tossed her head to show resilience, with only one small thumb-rub gesture to suggest
