Holly Willoughby welcomes new arrival into the family following 'mystery' stomach bug absence on This Morning

Holly Willoughby has welcomed a new arrival into the family following absence from This Morning due to 'mystery' stomach bug.

Holly Willoughby has revealed she's got a new puppy after a 'mystery' stomach bug caused her to pull out of hosting This Morning.

The ITV daytime host was absent from her usual presenting slot alongside Phillip Schofield from Tuesday to Thursday, with viewers asking Where is Holly?

At the time, Phillip revealed that Josie Gibson has been rushed in at the last minute to be Holly's replacement, making her TV debut hosting the main show alongside him - as previously Josie has only ever presented the competitions and news segments as their 'roving reporter'.

Holly broke her silence on social media to say, 'Thank you @JosieGibson85 for saving the day yesterday... I'll be back as soon as I'm in no threat of vomiting on @schofe.'

And issued a further update via her Instagram account and a sweet snap of her cat Bluebell, which was captioned, 'Good morning… My name is Bluebell, sadly Holly won’t be able to come out to play on @thismorning today as she is still under the weather… seriously what I’ve witnessed over the last 48 hours you wouldn’t want her there🤢… I’m sure she’ll be back on Monday… Honestly I’m sick of the sight of her! 😽'

And as Holly recovers from her illness, she uploaded an Instastory image teasing that she has a new addition to the family.

She shared a snap with what appears to be a puppy, with a love heart emoji covering its face and captioned it, 'We welcomed the newest member of our family a few weeks ago...click onto the link to meet her on the @wyldemoon website.'

And fans who followed the link were taken to the site of Holly's new venture, to which they could read more about the new female golden retriever puppy, which has been sweetly named Bailey, on Holly's mood board.

Holly is a mum of three to son Harry, 12, daughter Belle, 10, and son Chester, seven, with husband Dan Baldwin.

Holly writes, 'Bailey came into our life this month and has changed everything. My daughter has been campaigning for us to get a dog since she was able to talk, and we have been waiting for the right time for a dog to fit into our family life.

'Now, is that time. This little ball of scrumptious energy bounded into our world and immediately made us question why on earth we have waited so long.

She continued, 'She’s been brilliant for getting us all out of the house, going on long walks, and playing in the garden.

'During lockdown, the kids gravitated to being on screens more than normal, but Bailey has come in and pushed a giant paw-shaped, reset button for all us…and of course, we are completely in love,' Holly added.

But the new family addition came at the perfect time, as Holly credits Bailey for looking after her at home.

Holly revealed, 'Last week I was struck down with a tummy bug and for 48 hours I was really not in a very good way. I couldn’t take the kids to school, I couldn’t go to work and I couldn’t take the dog for a walk, but that didn’t stop Bailey lovingly sitting at my feet all day long.' 

'I didn’t have the heart to tell her that the slight smell of dog food was doing nothing for my swirling nausea, but nonetheless, just having her there made me feel so much better.'

And Holly Willoughby getting a new puppy has already helped nailed her favourite 'dog mamma style' too.

She blogged, 'Being a serious dog mama requires some serious waterproof walking boots! I love my Sorel Lennox Street Boots. And these M&S Water Repellent Chunky Winter Boots are great too!

'and a seriously warm waterproof coat, like my Lululemon Winter Warrior Parka or this Uniqlo Hybrid Down alternative'.