So far we have seen her making pasta with Stanley Tucci and playing ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid’ with Katherine Ryan.

But the third episode of Holly Willoughby’s new YouTube series Together sees the presenter in an altogether different light as she fought back tears throughout an emotional interview with a grieving mother before finally breaking down on camera.

The 45-year-old became visibly emotional as she speaks to Ellen Roome, whose 14-year-old son Jools Sweeney died in April 2022.

His parents believe social media played a role in his death, pointing to what they have described as an ‘online challenge gone wrong.’

As Ellen recounted her son’s story, Holly repeatedly struggled to compose herself, telling her guest: ‘It’s just so horrible, it’s just so horrible, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.’

The presenter spent much of the conversation visibly fighting back tears before finally becoming overwhelmed when Ellen revealed she still watches an old video of Jools so she can hear his voice.

As Ellen explained that she continues to listen to the recording of her son speaking, Holly is seen wiping away tears with a tissue before almost breaking down herself.

The raw exchange marks the most emotional moment yet in Holly’s online comeback, which until now has largely focused on lighter celebrity conversations.

Towards the end of the episode, Holly reflected on the interview by speaking about her own children.

Mother to Harry, 17, Belle, 15, and Chester, 11, she tells Ellen: ‘I’m going to tell my kids all about it.’

She added that her children are ‘right in it’, acknowledging how closely teenagers now live alongside social media.

Elsewhere in the episode, Holly read aloud a heartfelt letter written by Lauren Cowell, wife of Simon Cowell, praising Ellen’s campaigning.

The letter read: ‘I love you dearly. I’m endlessly proud of you, and I feel incredibly lucky to call you my friend,’ before adding: ‘Thank you for your friendship, your honesty, your courage and your unwavering determination to make the world safer for our children.’

The interview comes just weeks after Ellen won her fight to reopen the inquest into Jools’ death.

Earlier this month, a judge overturned the original inquiry, which had lasted just 23 minutes and heard no oral evidence.

Ellen successfully challenged the narrative conclusion reached in 2022 after taking legal action against the senior coroner for Gloucestershire. Her legal team argued that a ‘number of lines of inquiry’ had not been pursued.

The emotional episode represents a stark change of pace for Holly’s new venture.

The first episode attracted 41,000 views on the day of its release on Tuesday, outperforming Richard Osman’s The Rest is Entertainment, which launched a new episode the same day and received 29,000 views. Holly’s channel has since amassed more than 110,000 views during its first week.

The series also marks the latest chapter in Holly’s gradual return to public life after stepping down from This Morning in October 2023 following the revelation of a horrifying plot to kidnap and murder her.

Her departure also came five months after the ITV programme was engulfed in controversy when longtime co-host Phillip Schofield admitted lying about a relationship with a much younger colleague.

After almost three years away from the spotlight, Holly’s comeback has divided opinion.

Last week, speaking to The Daily Mail's Katie Hind, seven months after she revealed the project, Holly revealed she was not worried about the reaction to the show.

She said: 'I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea. I know that and that's fine. I don't want to try to convince people if they don't want to watch.'

Referring to her stalking ordeal, she added: 'I don't fear what people think. I've had real fear, I know what that's like. Your perspective changes after something like that.'