Holly Willoughby 'to sign new This Morning contract' as ITV grapples to secure show's future after Schofield

Willoughby took an extended half-term break from the show around the time that the scandal emerged, before making a statement on the situation when she returned to front up the programme.

However, just a couple weeks later she was off air again, heading off on holiday without explaining the situation to viewers.

Rumours that she was set to imminently quit now appear to have been put to bed after it was briefed to a newspaper that a new contract was set to be signed with the presenter.

The deal is thought to increase her current £700,000 a year salary and will see her remain on the show for a number of years.

A source told the Mail on Sunday: "Holly is going back."

They added: "People have been saying she won’t for some time now but she is.

"ITV want her back, and they are delighted she has agreed.

"It will be made official shortly but it will save This Morning, it will ease a huge crisis that they are in.

"It most probably would have been game over for them if Holly had left."

Willoughby had found herself under pressure when it emerged that Schofield had been in a consensual relationship with a young colleague.

Schofield admitted to an "unwise but not illegal" affair and apologised to the ITV This Morning team for having lied to them about it.

Addressing the situation on TV at the start of June, Willoughby said she felt "let down" after finding out she had given "love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV, and step down from a career that they loved".

She added: "I hope that, as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other."