Phillip Schofield’s This Morning co-stars have publicly shared their support for their former colleague after he gave an emotional interview about his affair.
The 61-year-old broke his silence after confessing he had a secret relationship with a much younger male ITV staff member while he was married.
He denies anything illegal happened, but said what he did was “unwise”.
It led to him quitting This Morning and being dropped by ITV and his agent after Phillip admitted he had lied to everyone for a number of years.
As This Morning aired clips of the interview in which Phillip said he was ‘heartbroken’ his 40-year TV career was over, host Alison Hammond broke down in tears.
Here’s how the rest of Phillip’s former This Morning and ITV colleagues have reacted so far.
Alison Hammond
Alison broke down in tears as This Morning finally addressed Phillip’s exit and affair after co-host Dermot O’Leary said it was the ‘big story of the day’ and they ‘didn’t want to shy away from it’.
The 48-year-old presenter told viewers: "I'm finding it really painful, I loved Phillip Schofield.
“It's weird because I still love Phillip Schofield, however, what he's done is wrong.
“He's admitted it, he's said sorry, as a family, we're all really struggling to process everything I never know what to say.
"I remember what my mom said, my mom always said 'use your Bible as your satnav in life Al, in the Bible it says 'he without sin, casts the first stone,' I just don't want to say anything bad because I'm in conflict."
Dermot O’Leary
Co-host Dermot O’Leary, who has been presenting the show with Alison while Holly and Phil have been absent, said: “I think many of us are.”
The 50-year-old continued: “What Phil has done is wrong, but at the same time...
“It's been very difficult for us to cover this story. He's a friend and a colleague."
He went on to say he thought the BBC interviewer Amol Rajan did an "incredible job".
"Because it wasn't without empathy but at the same time very much held Phil to account," Dermot said.
Gyles Brandreth
Regular opinion guest Gyles Brandreth urged people to ‘be kind’ after Phillip compared himself to former ITV star Caroline Flack.
Caroline tragically took her own life in 2020 after being arrested for assault and fearing it would end her career.
The 75-year-old said: “There have been many things that have been said and there's going to be an external review that will go into that.
"But watching this clip, I was reminded of a great saying by a writer, Henry James, who said, 'In life there are three rules - the first rule is be kind, the second rule is be kind, the third rule is be kind.'"
Sonia Sodha
Columnist and regular guest Sonia Sodha was also on the programme this morning and said despite what Phillip had done “there’s still a human being behind it”.
But she said in her opinion the affair with the man - who was around 20 when Phillip was in his 50s - was an abuse of power.
She added: “Phillip has admitted wrongdoing in the workplace, he's admitted lying about that wrongdoing in the workplace.
“And I think for me, having an affair with a much, much younger colleague does constitute an abuse of power in the workplace.
"So I think it's absolutely right that ITV have launched an external review that's going to be done by a senior, independent lawyer that's going to look at exactly what happened. I think it's very important that we all look at the findings of that when they come out."
Clodagh McKenna
Fans dubbed Irish celebrity chef Clodagh McKenna, 48, the 'only sincere' person on the set, claiming she showed 'real affection' and sadness over Phillip's departure.
Before Phil's affair bombshell, Clodagh bid farewell to the host, gushing that it had been a pleasure to work alongside him for so many years.
Sharing a snap of the pair in the This Morning kitchen, Clodagh wrote: "21 years of brightening up our mornings. And I've been so lucky to be part of 3 of them.
"I'll miss the morning hug, the twinkle in your eye that makes me giggle and your empathy."
Rochelle Humes
This Morning co-star Rochelle Humes also paid tribue to Phillip in a gushing online post before his affair was revealed.
Sharing three throwback photos of herself and Phillip presenting the ITV show together, Rochelle reflected on the fun times they'd had together.
“I've proudly been a part of the This Morning family for almost 10 years and over the last few, it has been an absolutely pleasure learning so much from you," she wrote, thanking him for being a 'fountain of knowledge and laughter.”
Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan who used to work on ITV’s Good Morning Britain which airs before This Morning on weekdays has leapt to Phillip’s defence.
He tweeted: “Unless Phillip Schofield’s ex-lover contradicts his version of events to The Sun & BBC, then it’s time to stop this relentless persecution of a guy who’s lost everything and looks right on the edge to me.
“He doesn’t seem to have committed any crime, and he’s not a Govt minister.”
Richard Bacon
Former Blue Peter presenter Richard Bacon, who was famously sacked from the show after being caught snorting cocaine, also waded in.
The 47-year-old thought his own career was over after that but went on to present The Big Breakfast and ITV's Good Morning Britain.
He has also hosted shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, XFM London and Capital FM.
Sharing a news story about Phillip, he tweeted: “It’s time to stop piling in on this human being.”
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