What happened with Phillip Schofield? This Morning exit explained
The departure of Phillip Schofield from flagship ITV show This Morning has been a fast-developing story.
Phillip Schofield has spoken out regarding his exit from This Morning.
In an interview with Amol Rajan for the BBC, Schofield addresses his exit from This Morning last month and his parting of ways with his former workplace ITV and former agents YMU days later after stating he had misled them regarding an affair with a former colleague at This Morning.
Schofield says in the interview that he doubts he will return to a television career, saying: "I have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart. I have lost everything."
This comes after Schofield admitted in a statement to the Daily Mail on Friday 26th May 2023 that he had previously had an "unwise, but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague who had worked with him on This Morning.
He stated at the time: "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."
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As the story develops, find the latest information on Schofield's exit from This Morning and ITV below, with statements from the former presenter, ITV, YMU and Holly Willoughby below.
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What happened with Phillip Schofield? This Morning exit explained
Why did Phillip Schofield leave This Morning and ITV?
Phillip Schofield quit This Morning on Saturday 20th May 2023 in a statement.
It noted that he would step down with immediate effect, with his last episode having aired two days prior on Thursday 18th May 2023.
The news came following reports of a falling out between Schofield and his co-presenter Holly Willoughby.
At the time, Schofield said: "I have 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 that 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."
The presenter had been due to return to ITV in June to host the British Soap Awards, however, on Friday 26th May 2023, Schofield announced he was parting ways with ITV entirely and would no longer host the awards or any other show.
Following the news that his talent management representation YMU had dropped him over contradictory information he had told them, Schofield released a statement to the Daily Mail confirming that he was stepping back from his roles at ITV.
Schofield explained in a statement to Deadline: "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."
Within a lengthy statement, Schofield told the Daily Mail: "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.
"I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it."
Schofield asked for the media to give privacy to the former This Morning employee with whom he had an affair and also maintained that their relationship was consensual and legal.
"I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning," he said in the statement.
"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."
In a statement, Mary Bekhait, the Group CEO of YMU Group, said: "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."
What has ITV said about Phillip Schofield and the matter of his exit?
Following Phillip Schofield's exit from This Morning, Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Managing Director, Media and Entertainment said: "Phillip is hands down one of the best broadcasters of his generation and we thank him for his two decades worth of absolutely terrific television on the This Morning sofa.
"This Morning is made by one of the best and most diligent teams in television, who produce over 12 hours of live television each week."
"We look forward to continuing our relationship with Phillip starting with The British Soap Awards in June and a brand new peak time series to come."
However, after Schofield's admission of misleading multiple parties in regards to his affair with a former colleague during his time at This Morning, an ITV spokesperson commented on Friday 16th May 2023: "We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield."
They continued: "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."
In a later statement, ITV revealed that they previously investigated "rumours" of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an ITV employee in 2020.
In a statement, an ITV spokesperson confirmed that "when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated".
The statement continued: "Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip's then agency YMU.
"In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.
"Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship."
On Wednesday 31st May 2023, ITV instructed a lawyer to conduct an external review of the network's handling of the Schofield affair investigation.
The network's chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall addressed a letter to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom and the UK government.
The letter notes of the previous investigation: "These show that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in late 2019/early 2020 ITV investigated.
"Both parties were questioned then and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours, as did Phillip’s then agency YMU.
"In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on the This Morning and wider Daytime team and were not provided with, and did not find any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.
“Given the ongoing rumours, we continued to ask questions of both parties, who both continued to deny the rumours, including as recently as this month.
"There has been a lot of inaccuracy in the reporting so I thought it would be useful to set out some facts.”
The letter continued: "The ITV employee was aged 19 when he first did work experience at This Morning in 2015 and 20 years old when he applied and succeeded in securing a job as a runner on the show.
"He subsequently applied for and was successful in securing a promotion to Loose Women in 2019. He left ITV in 2021.
"As you would imagine given the social media scrutiny of him, we have offered him our support throughout this period and indeed are still doing so.
"The employee has made it clear that he does not wish to be named or identified in connection with this matter. We would be grateful if you would be mindful of this.
"The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Phillip made assurances to us and his agency which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down."
"We have now instructed Jane Mulcahy KC (Blackstone Chambers) to carry out an external review to establish the facts.
"She will review our records and talk to people involved. This work will also consider our relevant processes and policies and whether we need to change or strengthen any.
“Given Phillip’s admission of the extent of his deception the work will extend to cover any related issues that may emerge. This work will be carried out as quickly as possible and we will be happy to share the outcome."
On 1st June 2023, Dame McCall was called to face the UK Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS).
The Parliamentary committee stated that McCall would appear "to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling".
McCall will answer questions from the committee on Wednesday 15th June 2023 at 10am.
What has Holly Willoughby said about Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning and ITV?
Following the announcement that Phillip would be leaving This Morning, Holly Willoughby commented in a statement: "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."
However, following Schofield parting ways with ITV and stating that he misled multiple parties regarding his affair with a former colleague, Holly released a fresh statement, taking to Instagram to address the developments and to state that she too had been misled by Schofield.
Willoughby penned in an Instagram Story post: "It's taken time to process yesterday's news. When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie. Holly."
When is Holly Willoughby back on This Morning?
Holly Willoughby is set to return to This Morning at 10am on Monday 5th June 2023.
This will be Holly's first time on-screen following the departure of her former co-star Phillip Schofield.
The presenter took an extended half-term break following her final show with Phillip last month. In the interim, This Morning has been presented by Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary.
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