Holly Willoughby breaks down in tears on This Morning after heartbreaking interview

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield
(Image credit: ITV, This Morning)

Holly Willoughby broke down in tears during a seriously emotional moment on This Morning.

The ITV morning telly star and mum-of three, who shares Harry, 11, Chester, six and Belle, nine, with husband Dan Baldwin, was unable to control her emotions as she and co-host Phillip Schofield interviewed dementia sufferer Paul Harvey.

Paul had become a viral sensation for playing a beautiful improvised tune on the piano after being given just four random musical notes to use, inspiring a £1million donation to Alzheimer's research. 

As Holly wiped away tears, the pianist said, "It was a great honour that they were involved" about the musicians who helped create his new charity single which has reached number one in the charts ahead of England's second national lockdown.

See more

He added, "Every time I hear that arrangement was done by them, I well up a bit, I get a bit emotional, it's a very special arrangement."

The touching moment clearly touched Holly's heart and she was unable to keep her tears from flowing.

Phil said, "So does Holly - we've lost her again."

Apologising for her emotional outburst following the tearjerking story, TV icon Holly said, "I am so embarrassed. I don't know what's happened, it just won't stop! Sorry."

This Morning

Phil told her, "That's alright, that's okay."

Still crying, Holly said, "I am going to get my box of tissues, hold on."

She added, "That was beautiful. Well done."

Mr Harvey had previously worked as a composer and was diagnosed with dementia last year. The song Four Notes was inspired by an old party trick in which Mr Harvey would request four random musical notes and then improvise a song, his son Nick explained.

Loads of This Morning viewers reacted in a similar way to Holly, taking to Twitter to share their thoughts.

'Such a touching piece of music! My Nan had dementia and one of the few things it didn’t take away from her was music. Thank you Paul and family,' one wrote.

'I was crying too Holly..you weren’t alone there, so very emotional and moving,' added another. 

Selina Maycock
Senior Family Writer

Selina is a Senior Family Writer for GoodtoKnow and has more than 16 years years of experience. She specialises in royal family news, including the latest activities of Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet. She also covers the latest government, health and charity advice for families. Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism, and gained her NCTJ and NCE qualifications. During her career, she’s also written for Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, and Woman's Weekly as well as Heat magazine, Bang Showbiz - and the Scunthorpe Telegraph. When she's not covering family news, you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories (including award-winning scarecrows!)