Schofield first met colleague he later had affair with at age 15 – stories
P
hillip Schofield first met the youthful ITV colleague whom he later had an affair with when he was aged 15, based on The Mail On Sunday.
The veteran TV presenter, 61, resigned from the broadcaster on Friday and was dropped by his expertise company YMU after admitting to an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague on This Morning.
Lawyers representing Schofield have confirmed they met when the boy was 15, however mentioned the affair started after he began working at ITV, and the person’s legal professionals have additionally confirmed that it started after he joined the broadcaster.
In an announcement on Friday, Schofield mentioned the person was a young person after they had been launched, and he was requested to assist him get into tv however underlined that it was various years later when he joined the present as an grownup that their affair started.
The Mail On Sunday reported the pair first met when Schofield was giving a chat at a theatre faculty when the TV presenter was in his late 40s.
It mentioned some years later the youthful man joined the manufacturing crew on This Morning when Schofield was in his early 50s and their relationship developed from a friendship to an affair.
The newspaper additionally mentioned Schofield confirmed the affair after the younger man revealed particulars concerning the relationship to his legal professionals.
It comes after ITV mentioned it investigated “rumours of a relationship” between Schofield and the ITV worker round three years in the past however that each events “categorically and repeatedly denied” it.
A spokesperson for ITV mentioned on Saturday the broadcaster was “not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour” when it appeared into the matter in 2020.
“Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship”, they added.
The broadcaster additionally mentioned it was “deeply disappointed” by the “admissions of deceit” by Schofield after he spoke publicly concerning the affair.
“The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust,” an announcement from a spokesperson for ITV added.
“Phillip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.”
This Morning will air on Monday, ITV mentioned, and denied the present’s future is the present’s future is in query, with stories claiming it might doubtlessly be axed totally.
An ITV spokesperson instructed the PA news company: “As we said on the record yesterday, This Morning is not under review and there’s no plans for the show to be axed. This Morning will return as normal tomorrow.”
With Holly Willoughby on half-term vacation depart, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary will proceed to fill in for them, together with when the Monday present airs at 10am.
Willoughby mentioned her former This Morning co-host’s admission concerning the affair was “very hurtful” as he had beforehand denied it to her as effectively.
“It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news,” Willoughby wrote on an Instagram story posted on Saturday.
“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not.
“It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
Last Saturday, Schofield introduced he was stepping down from presenting the ITV discuss present with “immediate effect” whereas Willoughby will stay on the programme.
The TV presenter, who additionally co-hosted Dancing On Ice with Willoughby, mentioned he would additionally not current the British Soap Awards, his final public dedication.
In his assertion, Schofield apologised for mendacity concerning the relationship.
“The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them (the Daily Mail), and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning,” he mentioned.
“I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.”
He added that “contrary to speculation” the connection was “not illegal”.
He additionally denied {that a} super-injunction had been issued by him, or on his behalf, concerning the connection.
“When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing,” he mentioned.
“Nobody ‘forced’ me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me.
“In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship. But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.”
The presenter added: “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.”
Talent company YMU mentioned it has “parted company” with Schofield “with immediate effect”.
The revelations come after Schofield confronted months of controversy together with stories of a rift along with his long-time co-host Willoughby and a furore over his go to to the late Queen’s lying-in-state.
Just a day earlier than he stepped down This Morning, his brother Timothy was jailed for 12 years for sexually abusing a boy.
A decide instructed the 54-year-old former civilian police employee she had not heard a “single word of remorse” from him.
The presenter mentioned “I no longer have a brother” following responsible verdicts in April.
Schofield married Stephanie Lowe in 1993 they usually have two grown-up daughters collectively, Ruby and Molly.
After he got here out in February 2020, in an emotional on-air chat with Willoughby, his spouse instructed The Sun she supported his “brave step” and “always will” love him.