Strictly’s Craig Revel Horwood calls for Phillip Schofield to be ‘left alone’

Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood, 58, has called for former This Morning host Phillip Schofield, 61, to be “left alone”.

The BBC star has jumped to the defence of the ex-ITV presenter following the fallout from Phillip’s controversial affair admission.

Phillip has admitted to having an affair with a much younger colleague at ITV while he was still married to his wife, Stephanie Lowe.

ITV released a statement saying they were “deeply disappointed” by Phillip’s “admission of deceit” and said they were conducting an investigation into what had happened.

Meanwhile, Phillip apologised to everyone he lied to, describing his actions as “unwise, but not illegal”.

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While Phillip’s actions shocked many, Craig has since argued that it’s time to go a bit easier on the star.

In an interview with Best Magazine, the choreographer said: “I think Phillip Schofield is entitled to a private life.”

“Yes, he lied to his colleagues, which is wrong, but he wanted to protect himself and his former lover.

“It pales in comparison to a war, where innocent people are dying,” he added. “It’s not like he’s murdered anyone.”

The performer then argued: “How many CEOs have extra-marital affairs with secretaries? A lot.

“It doesn’t make sense to me that it became quite as huge as it did. Leave him alone now, I say.”

Craig’s comments come as ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall is set to face a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling following the incident.

Since Phillip’s affair confession, several former co-workers and ex-ITV employees have stepped forward to voice their issues with the network.

This Morning airs at 10am today on ITV1.