Former This Morning host Schofield has left ITV after admitting to lying about an affair with a much younger man who worked as a runner on the show.
The young runner, who has not been named, was 15 when they met, with Schofield insisting the situation was ‘unwise but not illegal’.
Schofield apologised to his wife of 30 years for lying about the relationship, as well as his colleagues and ITV, given that it took place while they were married and before he came out as gay in 2020.
ITV later released a statement to explain how ‘badly let down’ they felt, before claiming to have previously investigated rumours of an affair back in 2020, but found no supporting evidence.
In an explosive interview after Schofield resigned and revealed his bombshell confession, Holmes, who used to present Fridays’ This Mornings alongside his wife, has made several claims about Holly Willoughby and Schofield, as well as the ‘atmosphere’ at ITV.
At one point, he claimed Schofield ‘created an atmosphere where people hated him. People would avoid him in the corridor. He didn’t look at anybody, didn’t know anybody’s name.’
Elsewhere, he labelled the former presenter a ‘narcissist,’ and said he was doing the interview on behalf of all thepeople who did not feel able to speak out or ‘who were gagged’ from speaking about it.
Talking about the young man involved, Holmes told Dan Wootton: ‘Ruth and I particularly looked after him, he never once talked to us about any relationship.
‘But we knew he was in a bad way and he was in a bad way fragilely.’
He added: ‘There’s an incredible duty of care that should go with that young man.’
The runner, who Holmes called a ‘lovely fella, really good talented fella’, went on to work at Loose Women.
Wootton asked Holmes: ‘Are you still in touch with the young colleague? And is he doing okay?’
The GB News presenter replied: ‘I’m not, Ruth is.
‘I think life’s tough for him.’
Elsewhere, Holmes claimed that the young man would arrive to work early on a Friday morning from Schofield’s home after saying ‘overnight’.
He claimed: ‘Usually on a Friday morning, because Thursday was playtime when he and Phillip would hit the town and then he obviously stayed overnight.’
He went on to claim the relationship was ‘known by virtually every staff member both on and off screen,’ and he asked for an investigation to be launched, before leaving ITV.
Schofield released a statement just yesterday, defending the working environment at This Morning, after the likes of Holmes and other former This Morning stars spoke out.
Taking to his Instagram Story, the former Dancing On Ice host wrote: ‘Now I no longer work on This Morning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.
‘This Morning IS the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity. You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like.
‘But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know, it IS a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard working people.’
In response, however, Holmes branded him ‘delusional’.
‘Schofield has just put out a delusional statement. Like Holly he puts it on Insta Stories so if it goes wrong there is no record after 24 hrs’, he tweeted.
‘I’m reluctant to give the liar any more publicity but believe me Pip if u r looking for a fight, u have picked on the wrong person!’
Dan Wootton Tonight airs weekdays from 9pm on GB News, This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.
Phillip Schofield statement in full
‘I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
‘The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry 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.
‘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 just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
‘When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. 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.
‘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.
‘I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
‘I will reflect on my very bad judgment in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it. To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so.
‘I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.’
MORE : Dr Ranj Singh teases ‘receipts’ in now-deleted post after Phillip Schofield pushes back on ‘toxic’ This Morning claims
MORE : Eamonn Holmes set to tell ‘the truth’ about Phillip Schofield in bombshell interview: ‘For all my workmates who were frightened’
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