Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby struggle to hold back tears as This Morning viewers baffled by 'missing' move

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby had to fight back their emotions as they returned to This Morning. The pair were back at the helm of the ITV daytime show on Monday (May 15) after question marks were hanging over their return due to 'rift' claims circulating.

The duo put on a united front as they appeared side by side live from the London-based ITV studios. Holly and Phillip were all smiles as they appeared live to millions this morning when Lorraine Kelly crossed over to the pair to find out what was coming up on This Morning towards the end of her self-titled talk show.

Sitting next to each other with smiles on their faces, the duo shared what fans can expect from the latest episode. But when This Morning got underway at 10am, the pair were nowhere to be seen. That's because the first edition of the show of the week opened with a performance, The show opened with Disney composer Alan Menken at the piano playing a medley of music from the iconic franchise.

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Following the performance, Holly said: "Oh, that was so nice," to which Phillip added: "What a way to start your Monday this morning.” The 61-year-old then turned to Holly as he said: "That is right up our street."

His co-star agreed: "Right up my street. It’s just a little taste of what we’ve got coming up later ahead of the release of The Little Mermaid. Award-winning Disney composer Alan Menken will be performing a medley of some of his best-known songs and I’m going to try really hard not to sing along.

"You might have to gag me," she quipped before Phillip joked: “This could be your audition. This could be your big moment." The pair then moved on to tease what is to come on the show