Katherine Ryan has spoken out in support of Holly Willoughby, insisting the presenter has been unjustly held responsible for situations created by the men around her.
The 43-year-old made her views known while promoting a West End play launch, telling the Daily Mail she believes the public backlash against Ms Willoughby has been deeply unfair.
“I think what happens is we get blamed for the actions of men,” Ms Ryan said.
The comedian recently featured as a guest on the second episode of Ms Willoughby’s new YouTube series Together, which bills itself as a space for candid, personal discussions.
Katherine Ryan has leapt to Holly Willoughby’s defence following years of controversy surrounding the presenter
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PAThe show debuted last month but has reportedly found it difficult to build a substantial viewership in its opening weeks.
Ms Ryan traced much of the hostility towards Ms Willoughby back to the so-called “queue-gate” row of 2022, when she and her then co-presenter Phillip Schofield were accused of bypassing the public line to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state at Westminster Hall.
Both denied the allegation at the time and ITV maintained they were there in a professional capacity to record a segment for This Morning.
“I think she’s getting a hard time because she might have jumped the queue to see the deceased queen with someone who turned out to be a bit of a creep,” Ms Ryan told the Daily Mail.
Holly Willoughby said she was hurt after discovering her former co-presenter Phillip Schofield had lied to her
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ITVThe comedian argued the public often fails to understand how little say a high-profile figure has over the arrangements made around them.
“People don’t realise this sometimes in a public situation, someone with that much profile gets whisked away and they don’t even know what’s happening,” she added.
Ms Ryan went on to contend that misogyny has been a driving force behind Ms Willoughby’s association with scandals that were not of her making.
She pointed specifically to Mr Schofield, who departed ITV in 2023 having admitted to lying about a relationship with a younger male colleague.
Phillip Schofield left ITV in May 2023 following an affair scandal
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BBC“Was she having an illicit relationship with a junior male colleague or was the man doing that?
“Was she lying to her wife about the state of the relationship or was it a man?” Ms Ryan asked.
Ms Willoughby herself had said publicly that she felt hurt upon learning Mr Schofield had been dishonest with her, yet she was still swept up in the enormous controversy surrounding him.
Ms Ryan also raised the terrifying plot by security guard Gavin Plumb, who was convicted and handed a life sentence for planning to kidnap, rape and murder the presenter.
“And then this guy tried to kill her. So I think she’s been associated with something she didn’t do and traumatised by men,” Ms Ryan said.
The case profoundly affected Ms Willoughby, who walked away from This Morning in October 2023 after spending 14 years on the programme.
Her career has taken a noticeably different shape since then, with presenting roles on Dancing On Ice and Netflix’s Celebrity Bear Hunt before she turned to YouTube for her latest venture.
Together offers Ms Willoughby the chance to sit down with guests for intimate conversations away from the constraints of conventional television.
Holly Willoughby recently welcomed Katherine Ryan as a guest on her new YouTube series Together
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YOUTUBE / HOLLY WILLOUGHBY TOGETHER
Despite the show’s slow start in drawing an audience, Ms Ryan expressed optimism about what it could achieve.
“I hope a new audience gets to see behind the breakfast television veneer of who Holly Willoughby is, because she’s fun,” she said.
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