Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary pay tribute to This Morning’s Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield has been dropped by his agent after the TV host admitted to lying about an affair with a This Morning employee.
The news comes a week after he quit the series with immediate effect amid reports of a “feud” with his co-star, Holly Willoughby.
His sudden departure sparked speculation from both viewers and public figures including former This Morning host Eamonn Holmes, and former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan.
On Friday (26 May), Schofield said: “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.”
He then released a statement to the Daily Mail, explaining that he had an “unwise” but “consensual on-off relationship with someone working on This Morning” while he was married.
“In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship,” Schofield continued, saying he had come forward with his story as his “recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him”
Schofield, who revealed he has officially cut ties with ITV altogether, added: “For his sake it is important for me to be honest now.”
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ITV hits back at speculation Schofield was ‘sacked’
ITV issued a response this week to speculation that Phillip Schofield was “sacked” from his role as co-host on its popular daytime show This Morning.
Following claims by former This Morning host Eamonn Holmes, who now fronts a show for GB News, the broadcaster insisted that Schofield’s departure was a mutual agreement between him and ITV.
“Phillip Schofield’s decision to step down from This Morning was (as his statement made clear) a decision agreed between Phillip and ITV,” a spokesperson told The Independent.
The 61-year-old left following intense scrutiny over his relationship with co-host Holly Willoughby, amid rumours the pair had fallen out.
Roisin O’Connor24 May 2023 10:05
Everything we know about Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield ‘fall-out’
After a week of rumours of a rift between This Morning hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, it has been announced that Schofield will leave the show “with immediate effect”.
Below is a timeline of Schofield and Willoughby’s working relationship, and the ups and downs they have both endured along the way.
Jacob Stolworthy26 May 2023 18:11
Is there anything more British than Holly and Phil’s frosty fallout?
We say to colleagues that we’ll miss them, says the Very British Problems author Rob Temple, but what we really mean is, “thank God they’re gone and I’ve now got their parking space”.
Jacob Stolworthy26 May 2023 18:08
ITV denies Eamonn Holmes’ claim about Phillip Schofield’s This Morning exit
While speaking on GB News, former This Morning host Eamonn Holmes said: “Oh please, just stop this. [Schofield] was sacked. All this nonsense of ‘I’ve decided to step down’. I’m sure you did – ‘here’s your P45 now step down’.”
However, in a statement to The Independent, an ITV spokesperson said: “Phillip Schofield’s decision to step down from This Morning was (as his statement made clear) a decision agreed between Phillip and ITV.”
Jacob Stolworthy26 May 2023 12:00
Piers Morgan decries daytime TV ‘weasels’ and ‘two-faced wastrels’ for Phillip Schofield exit
Days after Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning, Piers Morgan reacted to Schofield’s “brutal” dethroning in a scathing column for The Sun.
Jacob Stolworthy26 May 2023 11:15
Phillip Schofield’s family remain silent after shock ITV departure
Phillip Schofield’s family has so far remained silent after his sudden departure from This Morning.
The presenter’s two daughters Molly and Ruby Schofield, and his estranged wife Stephanie Lowe have not yet publically addressed the 61-year-old’s shock departure from the show.
Jacob Stolworthy26 May 2023 09:57
From Piers Morgan to Eamonn Holmes: The celebrities who weighed in on Phillip Schofield’s This Morning exit.
Jacob Stolworthy26 May 2023 09:20
Voices: Is there anything more British than Holly and Phil’s frosty fallout?
We say to colleagues that we’ll miss them, says the Very British Problems author Rob Temple, but what we really mean is, “thank God they’re gone and I’ve now got their parking space”.
Peony Hirwani25 May 2023 08:00
From Piers Morgan to Eamonn Holmes: The celebrities who weighed in on Phillip Schofield’s This Morning exit
Peony Hirwani25 May 2023 07:00
Phillip Schofield ‘utterly heartbroken’ he could not say This Morning goodbye, says Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan said Phillip Schofield is “utterly heartbroken” over his This Morning exit as he was not given the opportunity to say a “proper goodbye” to the audience after two decades on the show.
Writing in his op-ed for The Sun, Morgan said: “I don’t know the full story behind Phillip Schofield’s downfall, but where I feel personal empathy with him is over the manner of his sacking.
“For ITV to not even give him the chance to say a proper goodbye to his large, loyal audience after 21 years struck me as needlessly churlish, and I know he’s utterly heartbroken about it, because he told me himself.”
Peony Hirwani25 May 2023 06:00