Phillip Schofield quits as TV host and admits affair with much younger ITV employee
TV host Phillip Schofield has admitted an affair with a younger male colleague, sparking a huge reaction in the United Kingdom.
Popular TV host Phillip Schofield has sensationally quit British network ITV and admitted an affair with a younger male colleague.
The former presenter admitted he lied to his management, the TV network, his legal team, friends and family about the affair, sparking a wave of reaction in the UK.
His 40-year career is now essentially in tatters.
The 61-year-old left his role at This Morning last week and quit ITV after the affair with the ITV employee was exposed.
Schofield met the younger man when he was a teenager. He was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe at the time of the affair, who he married in 1993.
He revealed he was gay in 2020 but stayed married to his wife Stephanie.
Philip Schofield admits affair with ‘younger male colleage’
The former morning show host released a statement saying he was “deeply sorry” for the affair which he described as “unwise, but not illegal”, The Sun reports.
“I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague,” he said.
“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.”
Schofield blasted for ‘deceit’
His agent YMU released a blistering statement, slamming the TV star for a lack of trust.
“Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU’s whole business, defining everything we do.
“Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust,” they said.
“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 advisers we had brought in to support him.
“As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect.”
Schofield later said that “after 35 years of being faultlessly managed by YMU I have agreed to step down from their representation with immediate effect.”
ITV also blasted Schofield for his “deceit”.
“We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield,” the network told The Mirror.
“The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Philip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.
“We accept his resignation from ITV and therefore can confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as had previously been stated.”
Celebrities react to Schofield's bombshell
Piers Morgan was one of many people reacting to Schofield's bombshell. He shared the news and tweeted “Blimey” with a shocked emoji.
GB News presenter Vanessa Feltz was live on air with media commentator Nigel Pauley when the news broke.
Pauley said the statement likely meant there could be more “revelations and some more negativity coming out.”
“If an agent drops someone and uses the words honesty and integrity, that’s not good,” he said.
Dr Ranj Singh, who was formerly the resident doctor on This Morning, posted: “A storm is coming...”
Schofield’s career in tatters
Schofield burst on to UK TV screens in 1985 introducing Children’s BBC shows from the “Broom Cupboard” with puppet pal Gordon the Gopherm, The Sun reports.
It has taken just 15 days for the former king of daytime TV to fall from grace.
More Coverage
An industry source said: “This appears to be the final curtain for Phil — and his latest move appears like career suicide. There does not seem to be much hope of coming back from this. Which network would want him now?
“It seems an extraordinary move — to admit to a fling with a younger man when he was married.
“And it is the act of a desperate man. It appears the pressure has got to Phil, otherwise why do this?”
‘A**wipe’: Kyle, Jackie O on ABC star’s scandal
Kyle and Jackie O has come to ABC star Tony Armstrong’s defence after it was revealed he didn’t ask his network before taking up a new side gig.
‘Stunned’: ABC calls out own presenter
One of the ABC’s most high profile presenters has been publicly called out after his new “moonlighting” gig left a fellow presenter “stunned”.
‘I’m not a moron’: Barnaby fires up over EVs
Barnaby Joyce has clashed with a senior Labor MP about the possibility of China controlling its electric vehicles in Australia.