TV hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield share tearful reunion via 'cuddle curtain' amid coronavirus pandemic

There were emotional scenes on British TV today when beloved hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield reunited for the first time in months.

The popular TV presenters shared a warm embrace on their breakfast show, This Morning, as they resumed filming following a two-month UK summer break. But it was not your conventional cuddle.

Instructed to sit away from each other on set due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the co-hosts and good friends managed to find a way to greet each other with a hug.

In an ingenious move, a large plastic sheet complete with arm holes (dubbed "the cuddle curtain") was rolled onto the set so they could embrace without making skin-to-skin contact. 

"Is it weird that I'm really excited about this?" said 39-year-old Willoughby. "If you'd have done this this time last year, I'd have thought you were some kind of weirdo, however this year, I'm all over this."

As they hugged for the first time since March, when the pandemic swept the globe, Willoughby said, "Oh, I don't want to let go," to which 58-year-old Schofield replied, "I'm not going to let go."

Fellow British TV personalities Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, who were guests on the show at the time, witnessed the joyous moment and described it as "a bizarre heartwarming moment".

Willoughby had been counting down the days until she and Schofield were on set again. After she emerged from quarantine following a family holiday in Portugal, the host said she was looking forward to resuming filming with her co-host.

"Can't wait to see you and be reunited with my Silver Fox," she told fans on Instagram on August 28.