Holly Willoughby has revealed even her own children poked fun at her new YouTube show – as Together was released to dire reviews on Tuesday.
The former This Morning presenter, 45, has been savaged over the debut episode of the series, which featured The Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci, 65, as her first guest.
She has been accused of making desperate attempts at relatability thanks to swearing and unsubtle innuendo, with a one-star review comparing her show to Meghan Markle’s attempt to enter the lifestyle realm with, With Love.
Now Holly has confessed she was out of her depth when she switched from traditional TV to digital, with her daughter Belle, 15, laughing at her efforts.
Speaking on Sara Cox’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show, Holly gushed: ‘Today is launch day, this is like I’m giving birth today!’ yet confessed she found it ‘weird’ that YouTube was her new home.
As Sara asked if her kids were ‘annoyed’ at her for encroaching on a younger digital platform, Holly admitted: ‘My daughter was laughing at me as I was saying “subscribe and ding the bell and you’ll get notifications.”
‘She was like, “mum, you really don’t know what you’re talking about,” and I’m like, “no I don’t but I’m learning!”‘
Holly Willoughby has revealed even her own children poked fun at her new YouTube show – as Together was released to dire reviews on Tuesday
The former This Morning presenter, 45, has been savaged over the debut episode of the series, which featured The Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci, 65, as her first guest
Holly, who also shares sons Harry, 17, and Chester, 11, with husband Dan Baldwin went on to admit that her children had also criticised her photo taking skills.
She mused: ‘The other thing I’ve learnt is that if you ask a teenager – or they ask you to take a picture of them and you put the phone horizontally – that’s a massive no no.
‘They’re like, “you take a picture like an old person!” The pitfalls are everywhere, I can’t quite keep up.’
Yet her children did come in handy for giving her the inspiration for her new series, as Holly shared: ‘This idea has been in my head, wasn’t sure what it was or what it looked like and now it’s all come together…
‘Together was born out of seeing how my kids view stuff.
‘Obviously I’ve had a bit of time off and watching them they’ll go to Netflix or Disney or Amazon or anything like that, they’ll be clicking on YouTube.
‘It feels like this whole new world of opportunity where you can create something and people can come find you.’
Together is produced by Hungry Bear Media, which is owned by Holly’s husband Dan, with Holly saying: ‘I had this idea and I was like who better to make it and who do I trust – a perfect fit, no brainer really.’
Sara then pointed out that Dan’s company also produces Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, which saw Holly embarrassed when host Michael McIntyre brought out her childhood boyfriend for a reunion.
The radio host laughed: ‘Did Dan research what your ex-boyfriend looked like because he was actually really good looking,’ as Holly responded: ‘He was very much part of that.
‘I think it was actually his idea so he was sat in the gallery giggling away. That really took me by surprise, especially when Oliver pulled out a love note I had written.
‘I just wanted to die – it was not good – I was very young!’
Together is produced by Hungry Bear Media, which is owned by Holly’s husband Dan Baldwin, with Holly saying: ‘I had this idea and I was like who better to make it and who do I trust’
Dan’s company also produces Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, which saw Holly embarrassed when host Michael McIntyre brought out her childhood boyfriend (pictured) for a reunion
On Together’s debut episode, Holly joins guest Stanley in making a pasta dish – which led to The Telegraph’s Anita Singh stating: ‘They are so stuck for conversation that they end up reading out the ingredients list of a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie.’
After a beer and wine, Stanley kicked off a cookery session by handing Holly a coloured courgette, which led to the star stating: ‘I’ve never seen one like this before’ – in a very unsubtle innuendo, similar to her This Morning slip-ups.
Teasers show upcoming episodes will see Holly joined by best friends Nicole Appleton and Emma Bunton, alongside Katherine Ryan and Joanne McNally.
While fans appeared to enjoy the show, the reviews have been lacklustre elsewhere, with complaints of shaky camera work and an overlong running time.
A shocking one star review came from The Telegraph, who referenced Meghan’s Netflix show With Love, Meghan.
She writes: ‘Holly Willoughby’s dire YouTube show makes Meghan look good… Not even Stanley Tucci can redeem this 50-minute borefest of awkward small talk, forced swearing and pie tin trivia…
‘Even Meghan’s producers had the good sense to keep changing things up, editing her so she whizzed from rainbow fruit platters to flower arranging to holding guests hostage while potato printing.’
Last week, speaking to the Daily Mail’s Katie Hind, seven months after she revealed the project, Holly revealed she was not worried about 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…
‘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.’
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