Holly Willoughby shares ‘happy moments’ with friends at a wine party, ‘throwing shade’ at Phillip Schofield: ‘Let them bark, I’m still enjoying myself!’

TV presenter Holly Willoughby has been pictured enjoying a girls night out as she makes her return to social media.

The former ITV star, 43, shared an Instagram story alongside gal pal Nicole Appleton as they supported her son Gene Gallagher, son of Liam Gallagher.

a group of women are posing for a picture and one of them is wearing a villanelle sweatshirt

Holly Willoughby teamed up with gal pals Nicole Appleton and mates for a boozy night out

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Holly’s night out was to support Nicole Appleton’s son Gene Gallagher and his band Villanelle

In the picture Holly can be seen smiling as she holds her drink and poses alongside Nicole and friends to watch Gene’s band Villanelle.

Holly had her shoulder length blonde hair swept into a ponytail as she donned a leather jacket to enjoy the music gig.

The snap marks Holly’s return to social media after she stepped back from the spotlight following her exit from This Morning last year.

The star had presented the ITV daytime programme for 14 years, but left following co-star and former friend Phillip Schofield’s shock resignation after allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a younger colleague.

Schofield is currently making his comeback on Channel 5‘s Cast Away, which has seen him opening up and lashing out at his former co-host Holly Willoughby and old ITV bosses Martin Frizell and Emma Gormley.

Whilst Schofield didn’t name the three on air, he did make it clear he blames “three s**ts” for the end of his TV career and spectacular fall from fame.

A friend close to the former ITV presenter said: “Phil’s three s**ts are Holly, Martin and Emma.

“He dislikes Holly so much now he calls her ‘the witch’ when talking about her and sends the emoji to his mates if she comes up.

“Phil believes Holly, Martin and Emma were the reason he was booted from ITV and he thinks they treated him unfairly.

“He messaged Holly and told her, ‘You brought me down.’ He was furious, and still is.”

During Cast Away, Phil claimed he was sacked because of bad publicity around his brother, who was jailed for 12 years in May last year for sexual offences involving a child.

It was in stark contrast to how his departure played out publicly, with Phil releasing a statement saying he was stepping down after an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger show runner.

Phil and Holly’s relationship had appeared strained towards the end of their time on This Morning, with Phil later admitting he had lied to Holly about his affair with a younger male colleague.

The friend added: “In Phil’s eyes, Holly repaid his kindness by knifing him. He lied to her and apologised, but she dropped him, despite everything they had been through.

“He’ll never get over what he feels is a betrayal.”

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The night out comes after Phillip Schofield’s explosive appearance in Channel 5’s Cast Away, where he’s made it clear he and Holly are no longer friends

holly and phillip sit at a table with a bowl of fruit

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were close friends and presented ITV’s This Morning together for over a decade