Phillip Schofield has “broken” his This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby by taking her out for a tequila lunch.

He admitted Holly was less keen to party with him “these days”, explaining: “She had a bit of maternity leave, and I took her out for a tequila lunch – and now she doesn’t like the taste of tequila.

“So I’ve actually broken Holly – but we’ll fix her, she’ll be fine.”

Holly Willoughby's last day of work on This Morning before taking maternity leave in September 2014
Holly Willoughby’s last day of work on This Morning before taking maternity leave in September 2014 (ITV)

Holly, 34, gave birth to her third child in September 2014 and took a break from presenting This Morning.

Holly and Phillip will both be taking part in the Text Santa telethon on December 18, alongside stars including Paddy McGuinness, Alesha Dixon, and Olly Murs.

Phillip Schofield for Text Santa
Phillip Schofield for Text Santa (Ken McKay/ITV)

Phillip explained: “We just love being together, it’s good fun just getting a bunch of mates together and Text Santa always brings us together.”

The launch on December 1 will feature subtle appearances by the 53-year-old presenter across every ITV show on air – a “Where’s Wally” approach, he explained.

“I’ve already done lots of them and then the live ones, we’ll obviously do on the day,” he said.

“But I think I’ve played quite an important part in the Jeremy Kyle Show, very subtle, very small.”

I’m A Celebrity posed a challenge, as Phillip would have had to travel to Australia – and miss his appearances on all the UK live shows.

He teased: “We’ve done it differently with I’m A Celebrity, and it’s very subtle and very quick.”