Holly Willoughby ‘absent’ from This Morning festive gathering with Phillip Schofield

Phillip Schofield, Rochelle Humes and Dermot O'Leary were among the This Morning gang who met for a festive gathering in London on Friday afternoon.

Phil, 59, was pictured enjoying the outing in Notting Hill, after he and co-host and BFF Holly Willoughby presented their final show before their Christmas break.

However, 40 year old Holly wasn’t snapped and didn’t appear to be with the group.

Pictures show the group standing outside the eatery at one point, as some people puffed on cigarettes.

Rochelle, 32, who will be presenting the ITV show next week while Holly and Phil are on a break, was bundled up in a stylish checked brown coat, while her long hair was worn in a chic plait.

Phil, meanwhile, wore jeans and a checked shirt underneath a blazer, while Dermot looked dapper in a grey suit with a black roll neck.

Managing Director of Daytime at ITV Studios Emma Gormley and producer Martin Frizell were also among the group.

Earlier that day, Holly had stunned in a red velvet dress on her last This Morning of the year, which she teamed with heels from Manolo Blahnik.

She and Phil will appear in a pre-recorded segment which will air on Christmas Day.

It comes as mum-of-three Holly has insisted that she is "not retiring" from This Morning and admitted rumours about her leaving the ITV show are "hurtful”.

Discussing the reports with all the guests on Saturday's pre-recorded episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, Holly firmly ruled out her departure from the show.

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She said: "I never think like that. I feel very lucky to be on that show. The show changes so much, I think that’s the beauty of This Morning.

"Recently it's had the highest ratings it’s had in 15 years. It’s doing really, really well which is extraordinary for a show that’s been around for as long as it has. And I think because it changes and it evolves and it adapts.

"But I think that show has something to teach us a little bit; as long as we keep evolving and changing and moving on and happy to flow with things…"

Holly continued: "I’m very lucky to work with Phil. I can’t imagine a world without him being there. It just wouldn’t be the same. The magic of that show is us two together when we’re together.

"Fridays are different – Dermot and Alison have their own unique magic. Co-hosts like that don’t come along very often. So when they do you have to hold tight."

She insisted: "So no, I’m not retiring, that’s a really long answer."

Watch The Jonathan Ross Show on Saturday at 10:05pm on ITV and ITV Hub.

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