Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby choke up as guest relives Tunisia terror ordeal

The youngster was just 16 when Seifeddine Rezgui Yacoubi opened fire on tourists near the city of Sousse and today, he appeared on the ITV show to talk about his ordeal following the closure of the inquest into the attack. 

Phillip told Owen – who lost his grandfather, uncle and brother in the attack – that he understood recounting the horrific day would be traumatic for him and he could stop the interview at any time. 

When asked what he remembered from the day, he explained: “I imagine that everyone else is the same, you were just relaxing or chilling. 

“Then the noise, it’s not a noise that you’d recognise straight away. When I first heard it, I thought it was fire crackers. Gun fire is not your first thought when you’re on holiday. 

“It’s when people start to run that you think ‘What’s happening?'”

He went on to reveal that he was with his brother Joel, 19, when people started to run from the pool area of the hotel they were staying in. They searched for his grandfather Charles, 78, and uncle Adrian, 44.

Owen explained: “We left as a four but we didn’t get any help from anyone…”

As he began to struggle to recount what then took place, Phillip choked up as he concluded Owen’s story for him. 

“You got trapped in the indoor pool area didn’t you? I think we’ll leave it there,” he said acknowledging it was too hard to carry on. 

The This Morning presenters were clearly heartbroken as they heard Owen’s story with Holly, who appeared close to tears, reaching out to comfort Owen’s mother Suzanne Evans, who said she would never return to the holiday destination.

She and Phillip weren’t the only ones who were shocked by the interview with many viewers taking to social media to reveal they were in tears. 

“#ThisMorning- sat crying listening to this, my heart goes out to these lovely people,” one viewer tweeted. 

While another added: “The Tunisia attack story is actually breaking my heart  poor family torn apart, too much evil in this world #ThisMorning.”

This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10.30am.