Former Burgess Hill Girls and Collyer’s pupil Holly Willougby quits This Morning after 14 years

The ITV celebrity, who was educated at the girls school in Keymer Road, made the announcement in an Instagram post on Tuesday, October 10.

Holly’s statement comes after Essex Police said they had foiled an alleged kidnap plot against the star.

She said: “I have let ITV know today that after 14 years, I will not be returning to This Morning. To everyone who has ever worked on the show over the years, thank you so, so much. This is such a difficult goodbye, you are incredible and I forever will be proud of what we've done together.

“Thank you to everyone at ITV for being supportive. To every guest who has sat on our sofa, thank you. Most of all, thank you to the wonderful viewers. You’ve been so loyal, so supportive and the very best company every day.

“Richard and Judy said ‘we only look after this show, it will always belong to the viewers’. It’s been an honour to just be part of its story and I know this story has many chapters left to go. Sadly, however, I now feel I have to make this decision for me and my family.”

Holly Willoughby was born in Brighton on February 10, 1981, and was educated at Burgess Hill Girls and The College of Richard Collyer in Horsham. She started co-presenting ITV's This Morning with Phillip Schofield in September 2009.