This Morning dedicated the top of its show on Wednesday morning to pay tribute to host of 14 years, Holly Willoughby.
The 42-year-old had been absent from the show since last week after a 36-year-old man was charged over an alleged plot to kidnap and murder the ITV presenter.
In a statement shared to her Instagram page on Tuesday, Willoughby described her time on This Morning as an "honour" but said she made the decision to leave for good for herself and her family.
"I will miss you all so much," she signed off, sparking floods of support on her social media account.
On Wednesday morning, This Morning, hosted by Rochelle Humes and Craig Doyle, decided to air a tribute and farewell message of its own to the long-serving presenter.
However, it appears to have fallen flat with several ITV viewers at home, with many slamming the daytime programme for its "naff" response and below-par graphics during the opening credits.
As the title sequence unfolded, pictures of Willoughby appeared on-screen alongside the words "end of an era", "family comes first", "we'll miss you", and "goodbye Holly".
This Morning airs tribute to Holly Willoughby following her exit
ITV
Humes then said to the camera: "Hello and welcome to your Wednesday's This Morning and of course, we want to start by sending our love, best wishes, and respect to Holly."
Doyle then chipped in: "Last night, Holly made what we know will have been a heartbreaking decision to leave This Morning after 14 years."
"Holly loved her job here," Humes added. "And was really looking forward to the future of the show, but recent events, especially in the past few weeks, have been hard to deal with.
"She is quite rightly putting her family first," Humes went on before Doyle weighed back in: "On behalf of everyone here, front and behind the camera, we just loved working with Holly and she made coming to work so much fun."
Humes echoed: "We're all really really sad and we're really going to miss her. Holly has said she's incredibly proud of what she's achieved on this show and so are we. She will forever be one of us."
Doyle ended their sub-minute tribute to Willoughby as he added: "As Holly knows only too well, the show must go on."
Replying to a video of the opening credits and monologue on the show's verified X account, one person simply put: "Vomit inducing."
"Embarrassing," a second weighed in while a third added: "Just seen the opening of this #ThisMorning about Holly. Slightly cringing can't lie to you. 'She will always be one of us'."
"Those opening titles," another fan penned alongside a puking emoji in response. "Holly stepped down, not died. #ThisMorning."
"14 years…and THAT’S how they say goodbye? Bit naff," another critiqued while a sixth concurred: "OH FOR GODS SAKE she’s quit her job! She hasn’t died!!!!"
However, there was still plenty of support for Willoughby following This Morning's farewell, as one viewer argued: "It’s genuinely so sad that @hollywills has left #ThisMorning.
"She’s certainly had a challenging few months, of course she’ll bounce back but family always come first." (sic)
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Holly Willoughby fronted This Morning for 14 years
ITVWhile Willoughby - who spent most of her time at the helm of This Morning alongside Phillip Schofield prior to his departure this year - announced her This Morning exit, ITV's Director of Television, Kevin Lygo released a statement at the same time in which he insisted she'll continue to work with the channel.
Lygo said: "We are sad that Holly is leaving This Morning, but respect her decision which we know will have been extremely difficult for her to make.
"Holly is one of the best-loved, respected and most accomplished broadcasters in the UK. She has been at the heart of This Morning for the past 14 years, and she is adored by our viewers.
"Holly has brought her unique brand of warmth, energy, humour and fun to one of the country's most popular daytime shows, and everyone on the programme will miss her enormously.
"She remains a much-loved member of the ITV family and we look forward to continuing to work with her in the future," he concluded.
