‘Know you are always in my heart’: Holly Willoughby confirms her departure from Celebrity Juice as she thanks hit show for – years of ‘fantastic chaos’
- Holly confirmed the news in an Instagram post shared on Sunday morning
- The presenter launched the show with Keith Lemon and Fearne Cotton in
- She will finish her -year reign as team captain at the end of the series
- Insiders say the decision Comes as a massive blow to programming chiefs
- She joined This Morning a year after starting Celebrity Juice and is still the host
By Jason Chester and Katie Hind For Mailonline Published: : (BST, May 3) | :
The presenter, a team captain on the irreverent pop culture panel show hosted by Keith Lemon, confirmed her departure in a lengthy Instagram post shared with followers on Sunday morning.
Addressing fans, Holly, , insisted she only had happy memories from her time alongside Lemon, the alter-ego of comedian Leigh Francis. All over: Holly Willoughby has thanked Celebrity Juice for 19 years of ‘fantastic chaos’ after confirming her departure from the long-running show on Sunday morning
Sharing a montage of images, she wrote: ‘Thank you @celebjuiceofficial for years of fantastic chaos … I can’t quite believe what we’ve done and how quick that time has gone. Thank you to you all for watching..we’ve always had the loudest and best audiences.
‘Also a huge thank you to @ itv2 for believing in the show in the first place and for all of your support … Over the years the production team has changed, however to anyone lucky enough to have worked on the show, they will know that we really do have the best time, it’s never felt like work and always been to me like a night out …
‘Thank you for all your ingenious ideas and hard work … all good things must come to an end and nothing lasts forever … it’s time for me to hand over my team captain seat to some lucky lucky person .. . whoever that is, know you are about to get one of the best jobs in telly working with one of comedies finest … ‘
(Farewell: The presenter confirmed the news in a lengthy post shared with her Instagram followers
Forever friends: ‘If I don’t see you through a week or next week or the week after … know you are always in my heart , ‘she told Keith Lemon star Leigh Francis while confirming her departure
Thanking Francis, who launched the show as his notorious alter-ego alongside Holly and the now departed Fearne Cotton in , she added: ‘@keithlemon … Where to begin … I remember starting this journey with you and saying ‘I think this might work’ … my goodness me it did … three friends, you me and @fearnecotton.
‘… and that is what is at the heart of it .. friendship … I love the bones of you Lemon! Thank you for making me laugh for twelve years … I’ll be back as a guest and just to make sure someone is keeping you in check …
‘if I don’t see you through a week or next week or the week after … know you are always in my heart.’
All over: Holly launched the show with Lemon and close friend Fearne Cotton on 2019
Tough: Insiders say the decision comes as a blow to programming chiefs, who have long relied on her star quality to attract viewers
Insiders say the decision comes as a blow to programming chiefs, who have long relied on her star quality to attract viewers.
Although Holly had worked in television for several years before Celebrity Juice, landing the role on the show in (helped make her TV hot property.)
She joined This Morning a year later and still hosts the show with Phillip Schofield. Celebrity Juice is also where the term ‘Holly Willoughbooby’ was coined to described her curvaceous figure.
Her resignation comes shortly after her husband Dan Baldwin – one of Celebrity Juice’s creators – stopped producing the ITV2 show.
The mother of three’s departure now throws the future of the series into doubt after its host said it would be over if she quit.
Success: Celebrity Juice has proved to be enormously popular following its launch
Moving on: Holly starred as a team captain alongside Paddy McGuinness and host Lemon
Day job: She joined This Morning a year after starting Celebrity Juice and still hosts the chat show with co -host Phillip Schofield
A friend of Holly’s told The Mail on Sunday: ‘She absolutely loves Being on the show, she has loved it but she felt it was time now.
‘She wants to spend more time with her family, filming Celebrity Juice takes up an evening that she could be spending with her family.
‘She is, after all, one of the busiest women in showbiz.’
Yesterday, Francis paid tribute to Holly on Instagram under his guise as Keith Lemon, saying: ‘Love this woman. What an incredible sport. Always willing to get her hands dirty and join in. One of the boys but all woman. ’
A spokesman for Holly last night declined to comment. It is believed the star will make an announcement on Sunday May 3.
Here we go: Holly licks tiramisu from Stacey Solomon’s face after the Loose Women presenter was splattered with the dessert during a recent episode
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