hillip Schofield graduated from presenting on CBBC’s Broom Cupboard to get pleasure from one of the enduring careers in tv.

The 61-year-old, who made his identify alongside sidekick Gordon The Gopher on the BBC kids’s tv present, got here to be seen because the king of daytime TV.

On Saturday he introduced he was stepping down from ITV’s This Morning after greater than 20 years because it “has become the story” and he needed to “protect the show I love”.

The “silver fox” has loved an extended small-screen shelf-life than many different presenters, thanks partly to his chemistry with Holly Willoughby.

As nicely as co-hosting This Morning, the pair additionally fronted Dancing On Ice.

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Schofield at all times knew he needed to be on TV, spending a few years writing letters to the BBC.

“I never had a thought about pursuing another career,” he's quoted as saying.

At 17, he bought a job as a bookings clerk on the BBC however later moved along with his household to New Zealand, the place he landed TV and radio work.

When he returned to Britain, he offered hyperlinks with puppet Gordon The Gopher in 1985, on the primary afternoon of what was then known as Children’s BBC.

“If you can introduce Newsround with a fluffy gopher squeaking next to you, you can handle anything,” he later mentioned.

His phrases had been proved proper – in February viewers of This Morning watched as an alpaca began spitting in Schofield’s face.

The Oldham-born star moved on to Saturday morning present Going Live in 1987.

In 1996, he signed an unique contract to current a collection of exhibits together with Talking Telephone Numbers, Schofield’s Quest and Schofield’s TV Gold.

He additionally notched up success on stage, because the lead in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat.

In 2002, Schofield was given the plum job on This Morning after John Leslie was sacked.

He shared the couch with Fern Britton, who later give up, and Willoughby – grew to become Schofield’s “on-screen wife”.

In February 2020, simply earlier than the Covid lockdown, Schofield got here out as homosexual in an emotional on-air chat with Willoughby.

His spouse Stephanie later advised The Sun she supported Schofield’s “brave step” and “always will” love him.

She additionally mentioned: “Our family has also been so supportive and will help us going forward.”

The co-hosts confronted criticism in September final yr over claims they skipped the queue for the Queen’s mendacity in state whereas attending as members of the media to movie a section for This Morning.

A month later, Schofield thanked viewers after the chat present took house the daytime prize on the National Television Awards, saying: “This means so much to us every year, especially this year.”

In April, the presenter returned to the present after taking pre-planned depart round his brother’s intercourse abuse trial at Exeter Crown Court final month.

His youthful brother Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a toddler between October 2016 and October 2019, together with two of sexual exercise with a toddler.

Willoughby, 42, was in poor health and in addition took break day This Morning.

Schofield married Stephanie in Scotland in 1993 and the couple have two grown-up daughters collectively, Ruby and Molly.

In 2018, the couple marked their silver marriage ceremony anniversary.