It’s been a tough few days for This Morning presenters Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary as they continue to hold down the fort at the ITV morning show in the wake of Phillip Schofield’s departure last week.

Phil shocked viewers at home late last month when he revealed he was stepping down from the show, effective immediately, after presenting it for over 20 years.

The following week, Phil admitted that he had engaged in an affair with a younger colleague who worked as a runner on the show – something he had lied to ITV bosses about.

As a result of the confession, Phil was subsequently axed from ITV, dropped by his agent, and lost a number of lucrative brand deals.

Yet in true showbiz fashion, the show must go on, with Alison and Dermot having stepped in to continue presenting This Morning as the fallout from the scandal continues.

On screen, the dynamic duo have been doing their best to carry on as usual, but now a body language expert has revealed that the pair may be struggling more than they are letting on.

Speaking on behalf of Spin Genie, body language expert Darren Stanton, who is best known for his work as a “Human Lie Detector” on shows such as The One Show, revealed that both presenters were left feeling “torn” by Phil’s confession.

“Alison’s face was completely solemn as she spoke about her former colleague Phillip on This Morning today,” explained Darren.

“You could see she was very emotional before she started the piece to camera. Dermot held it together, but by the latter end of the interview, he also appeared very emotional. It’s clear he is deeply affected by the situation.”

“I feel that the two are torn by the fact that they worked with Phillip for many years, and having to present the show.”

Despite being deeply affected, Darren, however, explained that the stressful situation may actually have strengthened Alison and Dermot’s friendship.

He added: “It’s apparent that they are very much there for each other, and it’s actually brought Dermot and Alison together.”

"I believe the situation has brought Alison and Dermot closer together as a team. They will definitely come out of this a lot stronger as presenters.”

He then added: “People tend to build trust and rapport in difficult and extreme circumstances, which is what has happened between the pair.

“I think this will help strengthen their personal relationship, and give them a strong foundation to build on.”

Alison surprised viewers at home by breaking down in tears during Friday’s show (June 2nd), as she struggled to reconcile between Phil’s actions and her friendship with him.

She told viewers: "I'm just finding it really painful because obviously I loved Phillip Schofield."

"And it's weird because I still love Phillip Schofield. However what he's done is wrong, he's admitted it, he's said sorry.

"But as a [TV] family we're all really struggling to process everything and I never know what to say."

She continued: "But I remember what my mum always said: 'Use your Bible as your Sat Nav in life Al', and in the Bible it says 'he without sin, cast the first stone'.

"And I just don't want to say anything bad because obviously I'm in conflict.”

Following the segment, Darren also offered an insight into what was going on in Alison’s mind to prompt such a visceral and emotional reaction.

He explained: “Alison’s tears were from someone who had been bottling up their emotions.”

"It demonstrates that she has a lot of empathy and is a very caring person. Dermot also looked visibly emotional as the segment came to an end.”

“Just before delivering the piece to camera, Alison’s lips were pursed together. This is a sign of pulling back emotion, which is what someone tends to do when they are about to cry. "

He concluded: "You could see the emergence of sadness and emotion increasing. As the interview went on, she obviously couldn’t hold it in anymore.”

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