Holly Willoughby posted a bikini selfie from her family holiday in Portugal on Saturday, wishing followers a “Happy Sunday” just days after her YouTube debut drew scathing reviews from critics.
The TV presenter, 45, is staying at the family’s holiday villa in the Algarve with her three children, Harry, 17, Belle, 15, and Chester, 11, on what she described as their annual getaway.
The trip comes amid a difficult reception for Together, her new YouTube cooking show, which launched on Tuesday with Stanley Tucci, 65, as her first guest. The pair cooked a pasta dish together during the 50-minute episode.
Critics Pile On
The Telegraph gave the show one star, with critic Anita Singh writing that they were “so stuck for conversation that they end up reading out the ingredients list of a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie.” Singh also wrote that the show “makes Meghan look good” and called it a “50-minute borefest of awkward small talk, forced swearing and pie tin trivia.”
The Guardian branded the show “a marginally less agonising With Love, Meghan” and gave it three stars, with Stuart Heritage describing it as veering “from agonisingly dull courgette slicing to sweary banter.”
The Mirror, also awarding three stars, suggested the episode might have worked better as a tighter 30-to-40-minute cut and proposed that future episodes feature multiple guests to make conversation “more entertaining, fast flowing and lively.”
The i Paper’s Sarah Carson said the show was “a confused attempt to present herself as relatable” and argued that Willoughby’s “superpower was always her ability to be professional, not a personality.”
The Times’ Carol Midgley offered a more measured take, noting that Tucci was “effortlessly charismatic” and that his spaghetti recipe “looked very tasty,” while suggesting Holly’s existing fanbase and high profile could help attract quality guests going forward.
Numbers and Context
The episode drew 41,000 views in its first 24 hours on YouTube. Willoughby’s channel currently has 11,000 subscribers. By comparison, The Rest Is Entertainment, which launched in November 2023, has 138,000 subscribers and currently ranks among the top three entertainment podcasts in the UK. An episode it posted on the same day as Willoughby’s debut accumulated 29,000 views.
Willoughby stepped down from This Morning in October 2023, after it emerged she had been the target of a kidnap plot. Her departure also came five months after the show was engulfed in scandal when former co-host Phillip Schofield admitted to lying about a relationship with a younger colleague.
Teasers for upcoming Together episodes show Willoughby will be joined by Nicole Appleton, Emma Bunton, Katherine Ryan, and Joanne McNally.
