Phillip Schofield has admitted having an affair with a much younger male ITV employee while he was still married and revealed he is stepping down from all roles at the broadcaster.
His admission of the relationship, and that he had lied about it, came in a statement published in the Daily Mail shortly before his agents also revealed they were parting company with him with immediate effect.
ITV confirmed they have accepted his resignation and that he will no longer be appearing on the channel.
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Statements in full as agents drop presenter
A spokesperson for the broadcaster said on Friday: “We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield.
“The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Phillip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.
“We accept his resignation from ITV and therefore can confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as had previously been stated.”
The former This Morning star, 61, left the daytime show last week.
It is understood the younger colleague, who is not a public figure, did not want the relationship to be made public.
Phillip Schofield has revealed he had a relationship with a much younger male ITV colleague
In his own statement, Mr Schofield said he was “deeply sorry” for lying about the relationship to ITV, his colleagues, friends and agents.
He said: “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
“Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship.
“That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.”
Rumours of a rift between Mr Schofield and his co-presenter Holly Willoughby have been swirling for weeks
In a damning statement, his former agents YMU Group, said “honesty and integrity” were core values of their business and that their relationships are “based entirely on trust”.
Group CEO Mary Bekhait went on to say that after learning “important new information”, Mr Schofield “contradicted” what he had previously told them.
“As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect,” she added.
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Schofield leaves This Morning after more than 20 years
Timeline of departure and rumours of rift with co-host Holly
The affair took place before Mr Schofield publicly came out as gay, and while he was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.
Mr Schofield’s exit from This Morning came after weeks of rumours of a rift between him and his co-presenter Holly Willoughby.
Rumours of behind-the-scenes problems between the pair surfaced after his brother Tim Schofield was convicted of sexual activity with a child.
Mr Schofield, who married his wife Stephanie in 1993, came out as gay on This Morning in 2020.
