JAN MOIR: Holly’s statement was extremely brutal. But there is a terrible disconnection in this story

Seriously, I should have bet money on Holly wearing white. Of course she was going to wear white. White! The color of angels, the color of truth and purity, today the color of Phil’s ashen complexion and, coincidentally, also the main color of a white wash.

In her white button-through summer dress, Holly gulped and stared straight into the camera to deliver her mission statement, a 240-word testimonial of spun sugar on which much depended. Not just the future of This Morning but, more importantly, the future of Holly herself.

‘Right. Deep breath. First, are you okay? It feels really strange to be here without Phil,’ she began, the first and only time she’d mentioned her ex-colleague by name. From then on, she distanced herself further from her former best friend by referring to him using only third party pronouns.

“We gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt they should resign from ITV and quit a career they loved,” she said. Something else? Yes. “It’s just as hard to see the toll it’s taking on their own mental health,” she said, her halo radiating and her pretty face twisting into an expression she might have hoped showed concern and sympathy, but her only but looked like a slightly distressed marshmallow. .

Someone, they, them? It was bizarre. As if Phil had become transgender and non-binary overnight, not that Holly would know. Despite the closeness and friendship that developed between them during the 14 years of working together, he apparently wasn’t always upfront about important emotional matters. As is completely his right.

Holly persevered, her glassy-eyed angelcore vibe pierced with the occasional regretful half-smile. Was she a hostage begging for help, a nun raising money for the Turn A Blind Eye Convent, an actress giving a masterclass on how to emote in those big scenes when your nail polish is peeling or the wifi can’t get it right to work? It was hard to say.

One thing was clear: Holly cared. And she cared that you cared too — though her assumption that viewers felt her feelings of being “shocked, distressed, and abandoned” may have been too far-fetched. But once you waded through the shallows of her compassion, her statement was extremely brutal — more remarkable for what it didn’t say than what it did.

Most importantly, it reinforced the fact that Schofield had lied to both her and ITV, hardening the company line that everything is his fault. Her tone was soothing and caring, but showing a vague concern for the well-being of someone in trouble is not the same as actually supporting them. She said she was still full of questions, but aren’t we all?

For there is a terrible disconnect in this story, a rock in the river, a tidal divergence of truths that is still hard to fathom. If we are to believe Phillip Schofield’s version of events as presented in his BBC interview last week, why all the fuss?

‘Right. Deep breath. First, are you okay? It feels really strange to be here without Phil,’ she began, the first and only time she’d mentioned her ex-colleague by name.

According to him, there was no toxicity on the show and no grooming on his part. He had a small affair with a 20-year-old in a short time. When it ended, the two men remained friends. If this is the case, then it wasn’t Holly’s business, was it? Or anyone else’s, for that matter. Why did she even ask him who he had sex with? And if the truth lies elsewhere, then surely they are all complicit in something much bigger and more scandalous.

Amid the deafening sound of axes being sharpened by disgruntled This Morning alumni, none of it makes much sense. Meanwhile, Holly bravely spoke of a “desire to heal” and wants to “go back to a place of warmth and magic” where we can “find strength in each other.”

What the hell is she talking about? Either she’s booked in for a Turn That Frown Upside Down head massage treatment at Disneyland’s crystal spa, or the lawyers told her, “Don’t hesitate, honey, we’ll give you a heads up when the two minutes are up.”

After Holly thanked viewers for all their “nice messages”—tacitly underlining her status as The Innocent Party—Monday’s schedule unfolded as usual. Gyles Brandreth, tips for beating the pollen bomb, suggestions for avoiding vacation rental scams, and a recipe for barbecued chili shrimp. “I got better with spices,” Holly said, whiter than white, and tasted. Well, I’m afraid the jury is still out on that one.