Holly Willoughby 'tipped for new BBC role alongside Bradley Walsh' after This Morning exit

Holly Willoughby is being tipped to front a rebooted series of Gladiators; it has been claimed.

According to a new report, the TV presenter, 42, who quit This Morning last month, is being eyed up to join Bradley Walsh and his son Barney on the show’s second season after the first airs in January.

Willoughby has previously teamed up with Walsh, 63, on the broadcaster to front primetime gameshow, Take Off, between 2019 and 2021.

A source told The Sun: “The BBC love Brad and Barney, but it's also been proved Brad and Holly have an amazing dynamic as they featured together on the Beeb show Take Off.

“Since Holly's departure from This Morning, lots of channels and broadcasters have been thinking about what she could bring to their shows.

“And as she's such a big star, she's a natural fit for a huge entertainment show, which the reboot of Gladiators unquestionably is.”

The TV insider added that BBC bosses will let the first series air, which was filmed earlier this year, before commencing talk with Willoughby’s team.

The Standard have contacted Holly Willoughby’s rep and a BBC spokesperson for comment.

The report comes a month after the TV presenter announced she was leaving the ITV flagship daytime show.

It also follows a turbulent period at the show, after Willoughby’s former co-host Phillip Schofield left in May after he admitted to a relationship with a younger male colleague.

The Dancing on Ice host announced she was leaving the show in a social media post in which she said said it was an “honour to just be part of its story”, but that she feels “I have to make this decision for me and my family”.

Following her departure, This Morning presenters Rochelle Humes and Craig Doyle said Willoughby will “forever be one of us”.

Addressing her departure last month on the ITV stalwart, Humes said: “Holly said she’s incredibly proud of what she’s achieved on this show, and so are we. She will forever be one of us.”