Holly Willoughby turns 40 today, and she found a way to celebrate the occasion in the sweetest way possible — by slipping on the exact same dress her mum wore for her 40th birthday decades ago.
“This photo of my Mum was taken on her 40th birthday at the party she had in the garden,” Willoughby wrote in the heartfelt caption accompanying a side-by-side photo of her mum and herself on Instagram. “I remember this day so clearly. It’s a strange thing to reach the age you remember your Mum being! …I asked her if she’d kept the dress and of course she had… Strange moment zipping it up this morning, wondering how she felt on her big day … I can’t be with my Mum or Dad today but wearing this in her honour makes me feel closer to them… love you Mumma! #sothisis40 💕”
Willoughby arrived on the set of This Morning wearing the floral print dress that feature statement shoulders and a voluminous peplum. She was greeted with a socially distanced surprise courtesy of costar Phillip Schofield and the show’s crew — complete with a rainbow balloon arch and Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” playing in the background. If our 40th looks anything like Holly’s, then bring it on!
