ITV breaks silence on Phillip Schofield affair and slams star for ‘deception’

ITV has broken its silence on Phillip Schofield’s affair with a “much younger” This Morning contributor and condemned the star for his “deception”.

Schofield, 61, who was sacked from This Morning just last week, has now left ITV after the affair with the male ITV employee was revealed.

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An ITV spokesman said: “We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deception made by Phillip Schofield tonight.”

“The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Philip gave us assurances which he now admits are untrue and we feel badly let down.”

“We accept his retirement from ITV and can therefore confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as previously announced.”

It is understood that the younger man who met Schofield as a teenager is not a socialite and did not want the relationship revealed.

In a statement, Schofield said he “deeply regrets” the affair, which he says was “unwise but not illegal.”

He said: “I was in a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague.

“Contrary to speculation, I met the man as a teenager and was asked to help get him into television, but it wasn’t until he began working on the show that it became more than a friendship.”

“This relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It’s over now. When I decided to come out, it was solely for my own good. Nobody ‘forced’ me to go out.”

“Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued any restraining order, whether priority or otherwise, over my relationship with this colleague, he has never been transferred or fired by me or because of me.”

“In order to protect my ex-colleague, I have not been honest about the relationship.

“But my recent independent departure from This Morning has fueled speculation and raised questions that have bothered him, so for his sake it’s important for me to be honest now.”

“I am painfully aware that I have lied to my employers at ITV, my colleagues and friends, my agents, the media and by extension the public and most importantly my family.”

“I am very, very sorry that I was unfaithful to my wife.

“I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public engagement, and am stepping down from ITV with immediate effect to say a big thank you to them for all the great opportunities they have given me.”

“I will reflect on my very poor judgment when I participated in the relationship and then lied about it.

“In order to protect his privacy, I am not using the name of this person and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now go on with their lives uninterrupted, and that this statement allows them to do so.”

“I now ask the media to respect their privacy. You have done nothing wrong and I ask that your privacy be respected.”

Read more about Phillip Schofield:

Schofield was fired by his agent, YMU, who said in a statement, “Honesty and integrity are core values ​​for YMU’s entire business and guide everything we do.”

“Talent management is a relationship based solely on trust.

“This week we learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield.”

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, effective immediately.”

At the time of the affair, Phillip Schofield was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe, whom he married in 1993.

Schofield spoke openly about being gay in 2020 but remained married to his wife Stephanie.

Schofield was only just left off This Morning last week – he wasn’t able to say goodbye to his fans.

His exit was confirmed after weeks of intense speculation about his future and a feud with co-host Holly Willoughby, 42 – and as an insider revealed, the row even stopped guests from performing with them.