Phillip Schofield quits ITV after presenter admits lying over affair with This Morning employee
Phillip Schofield has resigned from ITV after admitting to This Morning that he lied about an affair with a colleague.
The presenter was also fired from his agency less than a week after he dramatically ended the show he co-hosted with Holly Willoughby amid rumors of a feud between the two.
In a statement on Daily mailSchofield said: “I was in an on-off, consensual relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
“In order to protect my ex-colleague, I have not been honest about the relationship.
“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.”
Schofield went on to confirm that he had fully resigned from ITV following the dispute.
His admission came shortly after he released a statement confirming he had resigned from his agency, YMU.
“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,” he said.
The agency confirmed on Friday that it had “split up” with the presenter.
Schofield co-hosted This Morning with Holly Willoughby
(Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Mary Bekhait, YMU Group Group Chief Executive, said: “Honesty and integrity are core values for the entire YMU organization 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.
“These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU and also the outside consultants we had brought in to assist him.
“As such, we agreed on Thursday to part ways with Phillip, effective immediately.”
This comes after Schofield was reportedly “deeply heartbroken” at leaving This morning. Last Saturday he announced he was stepping down from his role as presenter on the ITV show.
His brother Timothy Schofield was sentenced to 12 years in prison the day before after being convicted of child sex offenses.
Days after Schofield said he was leaving This morning, Piers Morgan, who used to host ITVs Good morning UK, wrote a comment for The sunHe admitted that he found the aftermath of Schofield’s departure to be “brutal to behold” and yet “not at all surprising.”
