Holly Willoughby WILL return to TV but ‘is still in a difficult place’ after quitting This Morning, reveals friend Dr Ranj as he shares their text exchange

Holly Willoughby is ready for a big TV return, claims her former co-star.

The This Morning star, 42, has not been seen publicly since quitting the ITV show last month after finally being ‘tipped over the edge’ by an alleged ‘kidnapping and murder plot’.

Yet Dr. Ranj, 44, revealed that Holly will return to screens in the future once she gets through the ‘tough’ spot she is in.

Speaking to Closer magazine, the former This Morning doctor said: ‘Of course she’ll be back on TV, she’s too good not to.

“I don’t know where or what show, but she’s so good at it that it would be a shame if she pulled out completely.”

Dr. Ranj added that he contacted Holly during her ‘tough’ ordeal to check she was okay, revealing: ‘She replied and she is fine.

“It’s obviously a very difficult place for her to be and she’s made a very difficult decision, but the kind thing is to reach out and just check in.”

Mum-of-three Holly, who originally joined the This Morning team in 2009, left the show last month ‘for the sake of her family’ after discovering she was the target of an alleged kidnap and murder plot.

It came five months after Philip Schofield’s departure after his affair with a young male showrunner was made public, followed by claims of an increasingly strained relationship with his co-host.

Holly was pulled from presenting the ITV show in October, just before it went on air, after police alerted bosses to the alleged plot.

Just hours earlier, she shared a candid post on her Wylde Moon blog about dealing with anxiety.

The post said: ‘If you or someone you love suffers from anxiety, you know how difficult it can be to cope. You’re not alone,” followed by a link to tips and advice from Louise Chunn, founder of WellDoing.org.

Holly lives in her London home with her husband Daniel Baldwin, 49, and their three children: Harry, 14, Belle, 12, and Chester, eight.

She remained under police guard in her home after news of the plot emerged.

The criminal proceedings would have left Holly – once the golden girl of British television – in limbo.

“Holly’s life couldn’t be more different to what it was a year ago and it has taken some adjustment,” said a friend.

‘There was a time when she was running around being a busy mother of three, but now she has a lot more time to spend with her family and get away from the cameras.

“She’s much more of a homebody at the moment and who knows when that will change?”

It’s a well-deserved rest for Holly, who was so busy a few years ago that she quit running a lifestyle brand with her boyfriend and Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones so she could spend time with her family.

But now she is faced with making one of the biggest decisions of her working life – if and when she returns to television after quitting the This Morning bench last month after 14 years.

She will return in January as presenter of ITV’s Sunday evening show Dancing on Ice, which she previously co-hosted with her former boyfriend Phillip.

It is her only commitment following her departure from This Morning and despite the BBC desperate to pry her away from ITV, there are no plans in the pipeline.

Sources at ITV say they are giving her ‘space and time’ to decide what she wants to do, while friends suggest it could be some time before she makes a comeback.

Holly is also reportedly the favorite choice to front the rebooted Gladiators, as insiders claim BBC bosses are eyeing her as the next Ulrika Jonsson.

If she agrees, the TV host will apparently join forces with Bradley Walsh and his son Barney on the show.

The first series of the reboot was filmed this year with the duo at the helm and will air in January, more than 30 years after the 1990s version aired on ITV.

The new format would see Holly join the current presenters for the second series of the iconic show, which is due to be filmed next summer.