Philip Schofield has admitted to having an affair with a younger male staffer at ITV while he was still married and has revealed he is stepping down from all roles at the broadcaster.
His admission of the affair, and that he had lied about it, came in a statement published in the Daily Mail shortly before his agents were also exposed. They parted with him with immediate effect.
ITV confirmed that they had accepted his resignation and that he would no longer appear on the channel.
A spokesperson said: “We are deeply disappointed by Philip Scofield’s admissions of fraud tonight.
“The relationships we have with those we work with are built on trust. Philip gave us assurances that he now admits are incorrect and we are very disappointed.
“We accept his resignation from ITV and can therefore confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as previously stated.”
The former This Morning Star, 61, I left the daytime show last week.
Understandably, the younger fellow, who is not a public figure, did not want to make the relationship public.
Philip Scofield has revealed that he had an affair with a younger male colleague on ITV
In his own statement, Mr Schofield said he was “deeply sorry” for lying about the relationship with ITV, colleagues, friends and customers.
He said: “I had a consensual on-going relationship with a younger male colleague this morning.
Contrary to speculation, while I met the man as a teenager and was asked to help him get into television, it was after he started working on the show that it became more than friendship.
That relationship was ill-advised, but it wasn’t illegal. It is over now.”
Rumors of a falling out between Mr Scofield and co-host Holly Willoughby have been circulating for weeks
In a damning statement, his former agents YMU Group, He said “honesty and integrity” were the core values of their business and that their relationships are “based entirely on trust”.
Mary Bakheet, the group’s chief executive, went on to say that after learning “significant new information” Mr. Scofield “contradicts” what he had told them earlier.
“As a result, we agreed on Thursday to separate the company with Philip with immediate effect,” she added.
Read more:
Philip Scofield is leaving this morning after more than 20 years
Schofield’s ITV departure timeline and rumored feud with co-host Holly Willoughby
The affair occurred before Scofield had publicly come out as gay, and while he was still married to his wife, Stephanie Lowe.
Mr. Scofield’s exit from This Morning came after weeks of rumors of a rift between him and co-host Holly Willoughby.
Rumors surfaced of behind-the-scenes problems between the couple after his brother Tim Schofield Convicted of sexual activity with a child.
Mr. Scofield, who married his wife Stephanie in 1993, came out as gay on This Morning in 2020.