Holly Willoughby has become the talk of social media after fans spotted her cutting a courgette painfully slowly in the debut episode of her new YouTube series, with many comparing the moment to Kendall Jenner’s now-legendary cucumber-slicing scene from The Kardashians.
The presenter, 45, launched Together, a cooking and lifestyle series, on YouTube this week. The first episode featured actor Stanley Tucci, 65, as the pair cooked a courgette pasta dish together.
Footage of Willoughby cutting the vegetable spread quickly online, with one popular joke reading: “children have been conceived faster than it takes Holly Willoughby to cut a courgette.” TV producer Emma Smith shared a clip of the moment, prompting fans to pile in. “This is painfully slow my brain couldn’t even watch the whole clip,” one viewer wrote, while another simply said: “Its giving Kendall Jenner cucumber.”
The comparison references a viral moment from The Kardashians in which Kendall Jenner, 30, struggled to slice a cucumber for a snack as her mother Kris Jenner suggested she get her chef to do it instead.
In the Together scene, Willoughby attempts to cut the courgette into thin slices before saying: “Oh that’s too thin!”, then turning to Tucci with: “Right do you want to do it quicker, you do don’t you? You’re desperate to get involved.” Tucci responded: “You’re killing me…”
Critics Deliver Harsh Verdicts
Despite the viral moment generating warm reactions from fans, professional critics delivered a harsher verdict. The Telegraph awarded the show one star, with critic Anita Singh writing that Tucci could not “redeem this 50-minute borefest of awkward small talk, forced swearing and pie tin trivia.” Singh added that the pair were “so stuck for conversation that they end up reading out the ingredients list of a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie.”
Several reviewers drew comparisons to Meghan Markle’s Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, which launched last March and was also widely criticised. The Guardian described Together as “a marginally less agonising With Love, Meghan,” while The Telegraph declared that “[Holly’s] dire show makes Meghan look good.”
The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage gave the show three stars, writing that Willoughby “has done a Meghan, rebranding herself as a cookery guru with a YouTube show that veers from agonisingly dull courgette slicing to sweary banter.” The Mirror, also awarding three stars, said the 50-minute running time was too long and suggested a tighter 30-to-40-minute episode would serve the format better.
The i Paper’s Sarah Carson wrote that Together is “a confused attempt to present herself as relatable,” adding: “Willoughby still hasn’t decided which she wants to be. Together is proof that her superpower was always her ability to be professional, not a personality.”
The Times’ Carol Midgley offered a more measured take, noting that Tucci “was, as usual, effortlessly charismatic” and that his recipe for spaghetti con zucchine alla Nerano “looked very tasty.”
Fans and Family React
Viewers appeared more enthusiastic than critics, with comments including: “Glad to see beautiful Holly back and with her own show a fantastic first episode” and “Love love love!!! Can’t wait for more.”
Willoughby admitted the move to digital has been a learning curve. Speaking on Sara Cox’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show on launch day, she said: “Today is launch day, this is like I’m giving birth today!” She added that she found it “weird” that YouTube was her new home. Her daughter Belle, 15, has already poked fun at her attempts to master platform conventions. “My daughter was laughing at me as I was saying ‘subscribe and ding the bell and you’ll get notifications,'” Willoughby said. “She was like, ‘mum, you really don’t know what you’re talking about’, and I’m like, ‘no I don’t but I’m learning!'”
Upcoming episodes of Together will feature Nicole Appleton, Emma Bunton, Katherine Ryan and Joanne McNally.
Willoughby told the Daily Mail she was unconcerned by the mixed reaction. “I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea. I know that and that’s fine. I don’t want to try to convince people if they don’t want to watch,” she said.
