Leaving aside all the speculation and rumours, the reason Phillip Schofield ‘left’ This Morning is still totally unclear.
On Friday evening, Schofield released a statement admitting that he’d had an affair with a younger colleague on the ITV show.
In the carefully-worded announcement, the 61-year-old expressed regret for lying to his wife, his colleagues and his bosses about the relationship.
But he also claimed this indiscretion was NOT the reason for him departing his much-loved job at This Morning.
Schofield’s statement on affair
Schofield’s full statement reads: “I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
“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. 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.
Protecting the ex lover
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