Alison Hammond breaks down in tears on This Morning…

Alison Hammond breaks down in tears on This Morning and says she 'still loves' Phillip Schofield

Alison Hammond broke down in tears on This Morning as she spoke about former co-star Phillip Schofield, following his admission that he had an affair while on the ITV show with a younger male colleague.

Phillip, 61, broke his silence in interviews given to The Sun and the BBC after resigning from ITV as he admitted to lying about the affair with the crew member, saying that he has "lost everything" in the wake of the revelations and that he feels "broken and ashamed" over the secret relationship. The former presenter denied claims that he had "groomed" his younger colleague, saying that a romantic relationship did not occur until the man was 20 years old.

Alison has hosted This Morning alongside Dermot O'Leary following Phillip's exit, with Holly Willoughby taking an extended break from the show. Speaking on Friday's episode after a clip of Phillip's BBC interview was played, Alison tearfully admitted: "I'm just finding it really painful, because obviously, you know, I love Phillip Schofield. And it's weird, because I still love Phillip Schofield."

Wiping away tears, Alison went on: "However, what he's done is wrong. He's admitted it, he's said he's sorry. But I mean, as a family, we're all really struggling to process everything.

"And I never know what to say. But I remember what my mum said - my mum always said: 'Use your Bible as your sat nav in life.' And in the Bible, it says: 'He without sin cast the first stone.'"

Overcome with emotion, Alison struggled to continue as she added: "I just don't want to say anything bad, because obviously I'm in conflict."

Earlier this week, Alison and Dermot opened Monday's This Morning with a defiant statement as Phillip's affair continued to dominate the headlines. "We know we have been in the news at the moment. But just from both of us, and the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you," Dermot said.

Alison added: "We really do, and that's exactly what we're gonna do - we're continuing to do that."

Joined by guests Gyles Brandreth and Sonia Sodha on Friday morning, Dermot told viewers that the show "didn't want to shy away" from covering the latest developments in the story. But he admitted: "It's been very difficult for us to cover this story. He's a friend and a colleague."

Phillip addressed his relationship with former This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby in an interview with The Sun, saying: "I've lost my best friend. I let her down. Holly did not know. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, 'I am so, so sorry that I lied to you.'"

Speaking of the public backlash he had received after admitting to the affair, Phillip told the BBC in an interview released on Friday morning: "Do you want me to die? Because that's where I am. It is relentless, and it is day after day, after day, after day."

Speaking to the BBC's Amol Rajan, he admitted: "I have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart. I have lost everything. If I get through this I don't know how I move forward. What am I going to do with my days?"

He went on: "I see nothing ahead of me but blackness and sadness and regret and remorse and guilt. I did something very wrong and then I lied about it consistently... consistently lied about. You can't live with that. How do you live with that?"

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