Holly Willoughby replaces scandal-hit Schofield with new on screen TV partner

Mirror TV Columnist Sara Wallis gets a sneak preview of You Bet!, coming soon to ITV, which reveals that Holly Willoughby has moved on, replacing Phillip Schofield with a caller co-host

As they locomotion retired into the glossy workplace holding hands, it’s wide that Holly Willoughby has replaced scandal-hit ex surface spouse Phillip Schofield with her agelong clip person Stephen Mulhern.

There’s a buzzing caller assurance astir the TV hosts arsenic they drawback each other’s eyes, looking slick successful their matching achromatic outfits. The connection quality has each the hallmarks of a caller epoch for Holly. After a distressing year, which saw her departure from This Morning successful the aftermath of Schofield’s matter and being the unfortunate of a stalker who plotted to termination her, stunning Holly looks similar she’s backmost connected apical and successful power of her vocation arsenic she hosts the marque caller primetime ITV reboot of You Bet! Holly already hosts Dancing On Ice with Mulhern, who replaced Schofield this year, and present it seems they are consolidating their spot arsenic the hottest caller on-screen duo.

During the two-part peculiar of You Bet!, a nostalgic, but modern reboot of the iconic situation show, Holly, 43, and Stephen, 47, person a wide chemistry, often hugging and clutching connected to each different for support. Holly says: “It’s beauteous moving with Stephen. We started moving unneurotic erstwhile I was successful my twenties and person known each different for a precise agelong time. There were tons of amusive moments erstwhile filming this amusement together, we couldn’t assistance but play on and vie with each other.”

Stephen adds: “Holly and I emotion moving unneurotic and we had truthful overmuch amusive connected the show. But immoderate of the challenges are truly nail-biting and we were virtually hanging onto each other. In 1 situation the challenger is attempting to standard the extracurricular of a multi storey car parkland to get to the apical faster than a nonrecreational operator tin thrust up it. The climber slipped, the operator was astir hitting the posts, we could hardly watch, truthful I’m truthful gladsome we had each different for support.”

Holly stepped down from ITV’s This Morning successful October 2023 aft 14 years, not agelong aft 62-year-old co-host Schofield was fired aft admitting an matter with a younger colleague. The determination besides came six days aft now-jailed Gavin Plumb was arrested aft a planned onslaught connected Holly, that progressive plans to kidnap, rape and execution her. Meanwhile Schofield was sent firmly into TV exile, losing his Dancing On Ice gig arsenic good arsenic his relationship with Holly. But Holly and Stephen marque a large caller imagination squad arsenic they big this surefire ITV hit.

You Bet! aired connected ITV for 10 bid successful the 1980s and 1990s. Originally hosted by the large Sir Bruce Forsyth and aboriginal by Matthew Kelly, it was a stalwart of Saturday nighttime TV. Now, it’s back…supercharged and reimagined for 2024. In 2 amusive action-packed specials, starting connected Saturday 7th December, the epic crippled amusement volition spot mean radical instrumentality connected bonzer challenges and mind-blowing feats. Walking retired into the large shiny studio, with agleam lights, cheering workplace assemblage and personage panel, a smiling Holly says: “Over 2 peculiar nights, we’re going to beryllium serving up the biggest, craziest, scariest and downright weirdest challenges connected TV.”

Expect spectacular daredevil stunts to quirky tests of passions and pastimes, arsenic a sheet of celebrities ‘bets’ connected whether the situation tin beryllium achieved. For each challenge, a star-studded personage panel, including Rob Beckett, Alison Hammond, Harry Redknapp, Olly Murs, Mary Earps, Judi Love and Rosie Ramsey, and the workplace assemblage indispensable stake if the challengers tin bash it – yes oregon no? And the stakes couldn’t beryllium higher due to the fact that the audience’s favourite challenger of the nighttime volition triumph a monolithic £10,000. The losing personage indispensable instrumentality portion successful the dreaded forfeit finale - performing unrehearsed with the formed of Tina - The Tina Turner Musical successful occurrence one, and the formed of Back To The Future: The Musical successful occurrence two.

Among the brainsick challenges to expect - operation works relation Will bets helium tin usage his digger to acceptable disconnected 3 fireworks portion doing a wheelie, gym teacher Mila bets she tin ascent the extracurricular of a multi-storey carpark faster than a contention car, goat farmers Lauren and Ian stake they tin sanction immoderate of their goats by looking astatine conscionable 1 portion of their body, and transportation operator Elliott bets helium tin present 4 takeaways connected his motorcycle faster than a drone.

Holly says: “I retrieve watching You Bet! arsenic a kid, and I loved it. For me, it felt similar existent Saturday nighttime telly. I retrieve being glued to the TV whilst watching a digger prime up six delicate eggs successful its elephantine jaws and placing them connected ovum cups, each successful a minute. I retrieve looking astatine my Dad who was arsenic arsenic enthralled arsenic I was. I deliberation the amusement works for each ages and is existent household viewing.” Asked what her You Bet! situation would be, Holly adds: “My accomplishment acceptable is truly minimal and the infinitesimal I’m enactment nether unit it each goes retired the window. I deliberation it’s rather a skill, getting 3 kids dressed, ready, fed and retired the doorway successful the morning. So possibly that would beryllium my skill, getting a household of kids to schoolhouse connected time.”

Stephen explains: “The large happening astir You Bet! is that, dissimilar immoderate different crippled amusement connected TV, everybody watching tin play along. Everybody tin stake connected the challenges, deciding whether our challengers tin bash it…or whether they can’t. Every clip I've ever been asked if determination was a amusement that I could ever bring back, I've ever said You Bet! So present is the accidental for younger viewers who person ne'er seen the amusement earlier to bask it and the older assemblage to reminisce and besides spot the amusement being brought up to date.”

He adds: “There are each kinds of things going on. There’s the instrumentality of the digger challenge, a existent favourite from the archetypal series, to quirkier challenges, similar identifying a committee crippled by proceeding the contents being poured retired into a box. We besides person a caller Quick Bets conception with fast-paced smaller challenges...like a pistillate folding 5 frying pans successful fractional utilizing her bare heads successful conscionable 20 seconds and idiosyncratic bench-pressing a washing instrumentality whilst riding a unicycle.”

On his astir memorable infinitesimal from the series, Stephen reveals: “In 1 situation a transportation motorcycle operator takes connected a transportation drone successful a race. But who volition win…human oregon machine? It's You Bet! similar you've ne'er seen it before. So I anticipation each the viewers that retrieve the amusement volition bask it conscionable arsenic much, and the younger audience, if they emotion societal media, past they're going to emotion this show. In each occurrence the loser has to execute with the formed of a large West End philharmonic wholly unrehearsed...and the results are genuinely spectacular...in each sorts of ways.”

Holly, a self-confessed instrumentality of the original, says: “It’s a crippled amusement that the full household tin get progressive successful and a elemental ‘yes’ oregon ‘no’ guessing game. We besides person the personage forfeit astatine the extremity of the amusement - and nary 1 wants to bash that.” On the challenges, 1 successful peculiar is memorable for Holly. She says: “The 1 that stands retired to maine the astir was a beauteous mates whose unsocial situation was that they could place antithetic types of cactuses - whilst blindfolded - by licking them. Yep…only utilizing their tongues, they had to place galore antithetic types of cacti successful bid to walk the challenge. It’s a existent dainty successful each way.” She says: “For the spectator experience, I’m astir looking guardant to the information that they’ll beryllium watching thing they tin truly consciousness a portion of and play on with astatine home. I besides person to accidental the personage forfeit astatine the extremity of each amusement is not to beryllium missed. It’s hilarious and sometimes hard to watch, but conscionable brilliant.”

*You Bet! airs connected ITV and ITVX astatine 8.15pm connected Saturday 7th December

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