PHILLIP Schofield has broken his silence after it was revealed he had an affair with a much younger male ITV employee - saying it was "unwise but not illegal".
The TV presenter - who was dropped from This Morning just last week - was still married at the time of the relationship with the man.
Schofield has now been dropped by his agent after the affair with the male ITV employee - which was not illegal - was exposed.
In a statement, he said: "'The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning.
"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.
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"That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
"When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing.
"Nobody 'forced' me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me.
"In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven't been truthful about the relationship.
"But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now."
Phillip Schofield was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe - who he tied the knot with in 1993 - at the time of the affair.
They remained together after he revealed he was gay in 2020.
And he said: "I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family.
"I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
"I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
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"I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it."
Read more on Phillip Schofield:
- Phillip Schofield admitted he had affair with a much younger male This Morning employee,
- Schofield apologised to his wife Stephanie Lowe,
- Read Schofield's statement in full,
- The star's agency revealed why they dropped him,
- Schofield resigned from ITV and stepped down from presenting the British Soap Awards,
- Eamonn Holmes spoke out before launching another attack on Schofield,
- ITV broke its silence on Schofield's "deceit",
- Rylan Clark shared a cryptic post hours after the affair bombshell.
In a statement through his agency as he was dropped, Schofield added: “It is with the most profound regret that after 35 years of being faultlessly managed by YMU I have agreed to step down from their representation with immediate effect.”
It’s understood the younger man is not a public figure and did not want the relationship to be made public.
YMU - Schofield's agency - released a statement, with Mary Bekhait, Group CEO of YMU Group, Schofield's agency, saying: “Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU’s whole business, defining everything we do.
"Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust.
"This week, we have learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield.
"These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU, as well as the external advisors we had brought in to support him.
"As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect.
“Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU’s whole business, defining everything we do.
"Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust."
AXED FROM THIS MORNING
Schofield was only just axed from This Morning last week after intense speculation of a feud with co-host Holly Willoughby.
It comes after his brother Tim Schofield was jailed after being found guilty of "emotionally blackmailing" a teen into sex acts and forcing him to watch porn.
Timothy Schofield, 54, carried out a string of sexual offences - the most serious involving an alleged sex act with the boy.
And he was jailed for 12 years over the sickening child offences on May 19.
The next day, it was confirmed his brother Phillip was dropped by ITV.
Phil made no mention of Holly in a statement announcing his shock departure.
He said: “I’ve always been proud to cover fascinating stories on This Morning. But recently, This Morning itself has become the story.
“Throughout my career in TV — including the very difficult last few days — I have always done my best to be honourable and kind.
“I understand that ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.
“So I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope the show can move forward to a bright future.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has supported me — especially This Morning’s amazing viewers — and I’ll see you all for the Soap Awards next month.”
Holly, 42, kept her statement brief, saying: “It’s been over 13 great years presenting This Morning with Phil and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour. The sofa won’t feel the same without him.”
Bosses had decided the situation was unworkable following clear on-screen tension between them which led to the show shedding 170,000 viewers.
