ITV probe into Phillip Schofield’s departure will ‘take months to complete’
The broadcaster confirmed last month that the channel has instructed a barrister to conduct an external review into the facts of his departure, with the findings to be made public.
The probe was commissioned after Phillip, 61, admitted in a tell-all statement to lying about having an affair with a much younger male colleague on This Morning.
According to a source, the investigation will take place over 12 weeks and involve interviews with Phillip and the runner, as well as This Morning stars Holly Willoughby, Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond.
They claim the findings are unlikely to be published until the winter.
‘The inquiry will speak to all those involved. It will focus on what happened before and after he was first given work experience on the set of This Morning. And it will also seek to establish who knew what and when,’ the insider told The Sun.
‘As well as speaking to current staff it will also invite former employees to come forward with information.’
Earlier this month, ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall faced questions from MPs about Phillip’s exit, the working culture on This Morning and other productions, as well as ITV’s use of non-disclosure agreements and its whistleblowing policy.
During the committee, Dame Carolyn said ITV worked ‘very, very hard for many months’ to ask the two men involved, as well as those in production, ‘if they knew something was going on’.
‘It was repeatedly denied by both individuals.’
ITV had previously said in a statement that a relationship between Schofield and the former This Morning employee was investigated in early 2020, but both parties ‘categorically and repeatedly’ denied the rumours.
In addition, ITV said it had spoken to ‘a number of people’ who worked on This Morning, but were ‘not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour’.
In an interview with The Sun, Phillip said he felt suicidal amid the fallout after confessing to the deceit.
‘I am in a very bad way,’ he said. ‘Mentally, utterly, utterly broken.’
He then explained he was not sleeping or eating and his mind was ‘in constant, utter turmoil’.
The presenter also expressed his devastation upon realising he may never work in TV, which he labelled his ‘safe space’ ever again.
Metro.co.uk has contacted ITV for comment.
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