The former host of This Morning described his affair with the ITV employee as “unwise, but not illegal” and confessed to lying to his employers, coworkers, friends, and management company about the affair.
Phillip Schofield has confessed to having an affair with a much younger male ITV employee while he was married, and he has announced his resignation from all positions at the network.
In a statement published in the Daily Mail, he admitted the relationship and that he had lied about it. Shortly before his agents announced they were severing ties with him immediately.
ITV has verified that they have accepted his resignation and he will no longer appear on the channel.
A spokesperson for the broadcaster stated on Friday, “We are deeply disappointed by Phillip Schofield’s admissions of deceit made tonight.”
The relationships we have with our coworkers are founded on mutual trust. Phillip gave us assurances that he now admits were false, and we feel profoundly deceived.
“We accept his resignation from ITV and can therefore confirm, as previously stated, that he will not be appearing on ITV.”
The 61-year-old former host of This Morning departed the daytime show last week.
The non-public figure coworker may have wanted the relationship kept private.
Mr. Schofield said he was “deeply sorry” for misleading ITV, his colleagues, acquaintances, and agents about his relationship.
He stated, “I had an on-and-off relationship with a younger male coworker at This Morning.
“Contrary to popular belief, although I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him break into television, we only became more than just friends after he began working on the program.
This relationship was imprudent, but not unlawful. It is now finished.”
His former agents, YMU Group, stated in a damning statement that “honesty and integrity” are core business values and that their relationships are “based entirely on trust
Mary Bekhait, the chief executive officer of the group, continued by stating that Mr. Schofield “contradicted” what he had previously stated after discovering “vital new information.”
She added, “As a result, on Thursday we agreed to immediately part ways with Phillip.”
The affair occurred before Mr. Schofield publicly acknowledged his homosexuality and while he was still married to Stephanie Lowe.
After weeks of rumours, Mr. Schofield left This Morning.
After his brother Tim Schofield was convicted of child molesting, rumours of internal strife appeared.
Mr. Schofield, who married Stephanie in 1993, revealed his sexual orientation on This Morning in 2020.