- By Steven McIntosh
- entertainment reporter
May 27, 2023 12:04 BST
Updated 5 minutes ago
Image source: Getty Images
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Phillip Schofield quit his role on This Morning last week after reports of a falling out with co-star Holly Willoughby
ITV said it had investigated “rumors” of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and a younger staff member in 2020 – but both have “repeatedly denied”.
The TV presenter said the relationship was “unwise but not illegal”.
Some former ITV employees said the revelations had raised questions about how much the channel’s managers knew.
An ITV spokesman said: “Following our statement last night, ITV can confirm that ITV investigated when rumors of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an ITV employee first began to circulate in early 2020.
“Both parties were questioned and repeatedly categorically denied the rumours, as did Phillip’s then-agency YMU.”
“In addition, ITV has spoken to a number of people who worked on This Morning and no evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumor has been received or found.”
“Phillip’s statement yesterday shows he has lied to people at ITV, from senior management to other presenters, the YMU, the media and others, about this relationship.”
The statement follows comments from former ITV daytime presenters, including Eamonn Holmes and Dan Wootton, that ITV bosses had questions about how much control they had over one of their most prominent presenters.
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Schofield and Willoughby co-presented ITV’s This Morning and Dancing on Ice before his departure
Schofield released a statement to the Chron on Friday confirming he was having an affair with a young male employee who worked at the station.
At the time of the affair, he was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe. They split in 2020 after he came out as gay.
The TV presenter said he was “very, very sorry” for having been unfaithful to his wife and for lying to his colleagues, agents, employers, friends, the media and the public about the relationship.
The 61-year-old’s departure from the network means he won’t be presenting the British Soap Awards next month.
He will also not star in a new prime-time series which ITV said is being developed with him last week.
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Phillip Schofield was still married to Stephanie Lowe (pictured 2020) at the time of the relationship
But in his statement on Friday, Schofield said his departure from the show had nothing to do with the affair with the colleague, whose name the BBC does not name.
A previous ITV statement on the affair said: “Phillip has given us assurances which he now admits were untrue and we feel badly let down.”
Schofield’s confirmation of the affair follows extensive online speculation about his personal relationships for several months.
The talent agency YMU also cut the connection to the moderator after his announcement.
In a statement to the BBC, Schofield said: “It is with the greatest regret that, after 35 years of impeccable leadership by YMU, I have agreed to step down from representing you with immediate effect.”