Phillip Schofield: ITV boss referred to as to reply questions by MPs on safeguarding after star’s affair

ITV’s chief govt has been referred to as to provide proof in parliament in regards to the broadcaster’s strategy to safeguarding and dealing with complaints, following Phillip Schofield’s departure.

Dame Carolyn McCall has been requested by the tradition, media and sport committee (CMS) to reply questions on Wednesday 14 June.

It comes after ITV introduced it had launched an exterior evaluate to ascertain the info across the studies of a relationship between presenter Schofield and a youthful worker on This Morning.

The committee is already set to query ITV group director of technique, coverage and regulation Magnus Brooke, alongside executives from Channel 4 and Channel 5, in regards to the draft Media Bill, in a separate session on Tuesday subsequent week.

Schofield final week admitted to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a youthful male colleague and stepped down from his roles with ITV. He was additionally dropped by expertise company YMU.

Following the admission, the 61-year-old was additionally dropped as an envoy for The Prince’s Trust charity, and Jane McDonald was confirmed to replace him as host of the British Soap Awards.

ITV introduced it had instructed a barrister to hold out an exterior evaluate of the state of affairs in a letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, CMS committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage, and Ofcom chief govt Dame Melanie Dawes.

Read extra on Phillip Schofield:
Timeline of ITV departure after colleague affair
Key extracts from ITV’s letter on external review
Eamonn Holmes alleges ‘total cover-up’

In a written response, Dame Caroline stated the media trade’s “duty of care towards its staff” was “a matter of the highest importance”.

She continued: “Whilst the recent coverage focuses on the Schofield case, it also raises fundamental issues about safeguarding and complaint handling both at ITV and more widely across the media.

“These issues should, particularly in the case of public service broadcasters, be open to scrutiny. The public must have confidence in the robustness of public service broadcasters’ safeguarding procedures.

“Whilst these are points that we wish to focus on first with ITV, we will even contemplate them in our common scrutiny periods with different public service broadcasters, together with the BBC later this month and Channel 4 later within the 12 months.”

Following reports Dame Carolyn was asked to appear at the previously scheduled session on Tuesday, it has now been confirmed that hosting the separate meeting on 14 June will allow next week’s event to focus on “its supposed goal of scrutinising the federal government’s draft Media Bill”.

How Phillip Schofield’s profession unravelled

Schofield initially stated he was leaving This Morning after more than two decades as a result of he had “become the story” following hypothesis of a rift between him and co-presenter Holly Willoughby. Reports of the rift got here after his brother was jailed for 12 years over child sex offences.

At the time of this primary announcement, ITV described Schofield as “hands down one of the best broadcasters of his generation” and stated they’d proceed to work with him on different tasks, together with the cleaning soap awards.

However, he was dropped fully when particulars of the affair emerged the next week.

Willoughby, 41, is predicted to return to the present on Monday, when she returns from vacation.