TV presenter Philip Schofield announced he was stepping down from ITV’s “This Morning” with immediate effect on 20 May following weeks of speculation about his fractured relationship with his co-host, Holly Willoughby. Days later, on 26 May, Schofield released a further statement detailing that he was resigning from ITV completely following a relationship with a younger colleague on the daytime TV show.
In a statement given to The Daily Mail, Schofield apologised for misleading the publication and his lawyer about a story that had been due to run concerning his personal life. “The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sore for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning,” he writes.
Schofield has spoken out after ongoing scrutiny concerning the unnamed former colleague in question. “Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than a just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over…”
While leaving the famous “This Morning” sofa, where he has worked for more than 20 years, he was still due to present the Soap Awards in a few weeks and told fans last week that he had a primetime TV show in the works. He has since resigned from both projects, giving thanks to the network for the “amazing opportunities” he had been given in his career.
“I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife…” Schofield came out as gay in a live interview on “This Morning” in February 2020.
Schofield stresses that his departure from “This Morning” has been unrelated to this matter, but the man in question has been impacted, and he felt the need to be honest. “I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it,” he continues. Schofield ends the statement by asking for privacy going forward. YMU Agency, who had represented Schofield, also released a statement explaining they have parted ways with the broadcaster.
An ITV spokesperson added: “We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield. The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Phillip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down. We accept his resignation from ITV and therefore can confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as had previously been stated.”
