Phillip Schofield quits ITV after admitting to affair with 'younger male colleague'
Topics: Celebrity, ITV, TV And Film, Phillip Schofield, This Morning
Katherine Sidnell
Featured Image Credit: ITV
Topics: Celebrity, ITV, TV And Film, Phillip Schofield, This Morning
Phillip Schofield has resigned from ITV after he revealed that he'd had a relationship with a younger colleague during his time at This Morning.
It came as part of a statement to the Daily Mail as the presenter also announced that he would be stepping down from the British Soap Awards.
Whilst Schofield did not name the production runner, he did state that the relationship has been ‘unwise but not illegal’.
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The statement read: “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.”
Schofield insisted that his disclosure was not being ‘forced’, stating that no one had ‘issued an injunction’ about the relationship.
He added that neither he nor the unnamed colleague had been sacked over the matter.
However, the 61-year-old did make reference to this, adding that he felt it was necessary to discuss the relationship as it had been those involved.
“….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,” he told the publication.
He added that he was ‘painfully conscious’ that he ‘lied’ to his other colleagues, loved ones and his representatives.
During this, he also apologised to his wife, Stephanie Lowe, writing: “I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.”
The former This Morning host then revealed that he would be resigning from British Soap Awards and ITV, thanking them for the 'amazing opportunities' they had given him over the years.
He also asked that his former colleague's privacy be respected, adding that 'they had done nothing wrong'.
Meanwhile, his former management team, YMU, also gave a statement, which read: "This week, we have learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield."
"These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU, as well as the external advisors we had brought in to support him."
"As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect."