Phillip Schofield's affair from helping hand into TV to 'protecting' romance
Phillip Schofield's career has fallen apart in the last few days after weeks of scrutiny as well as his recent affair admission.
The This Morning presenter recently admitted to having an affair with a younger ITV member of staff.
Phillip was dropped by his talent agency YMU after the affair, which was not illegal, and has also stepped down from ITV completely – meaning he will no longer host the British Soap Awards next week among other ITV shows.
In a statement released tonight, which can be read here in full, he said he was "deeply sorry" to his lawyers for "misleading" them on a story, which was set to be published earlier this week about the affair.
From his statement, here's what we learned about his affair.
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First Meeting
In his statement, Phillip apologised for lying to people about the relationship he had with the unnamed person working on This Morning.
Phillip admitted he had a 'consensual on-off relationship' with someone 'younger' on the programme, which he hosted alongside Holly (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)He revealed it was a "consensual on-off relationship" with someone "younger" who was working at This Morning.
However, he debunked the 'speculations' that he started a relationship with the employee before he worked on the programme and insisted the relationship was "not illegal".
"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," he revealed.
"That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over."
Coming Out
In 2020, Phillip and his wife Stephanie Lowe separated after 17 years of marriage.
Phil came out as gay in 2020 (S Meddle/ITV/REX)He moved out of the family home that he shared with her and their two children.
In February of the same year, he came out as gay in a statement shared on one of his Instagram stories, shortly before appearing on This Morning.
He has since reflected on his coming out and insisted he was not "forced" to do so.
"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," he said in Friday's statement.
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Protection
The former This Morning presenter revealed he initially wasn't truthful about the relationship – having "mislead" the press and his lawyers about the relationship when approached about it before.
He admitted his actions, which have since been branded as "deceit" by ITV, were "an effort to protect my ex-colleague".
He departed the series last week (ITV)"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," Phil explained.
"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."
ITV and talent agent's reaction
Following the news of his affair, ITV released a statement explaining how they are 'deeply disappointed' by Phillip's "admissions of deceit".
The broadcaster released the statement and accepted the 61-year-old presenter's resignation with immediate effect (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)The broadcaster released the statement and accepted the 61-year-old presenter's resignation with immediate effect after he apologised in a statement and stepped down from his hosting duties on ITV.
An ITV spokesperson told the Mirror: "We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield.
"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.
His agency, YMU Entertainment, also released a statement about 'parting company' with 'immediate effect'.
"Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU’s whole business, defining everything we do. Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust," YMU stated.
"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."
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