Phillip Schofield has claimed he did "not groom" the younger colleague at This Morning that he had an affair with, as he addressed the scandal in his first interview since admitting to cheating on his wife.
The former ITV presenter spoke out in a bid to address rumours and says he "didn't lie to protect my career" but to protect the man he had an affair with.
Phillip said: "I did not, I did not (groom him). There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way (an abuse of power) because we’d become mates. I don’t know about that.
“But of course I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that anywhere else. I assume somebody, somewhere, assumed something was going on, correctly, and didn’t say anything."
Phillip referenced a photograph of the man he later had an affair with at a drama school that the former This Morning presenter had visited.
The disgraced presenter admitted to The Sun that he felt "massive guilt" over the affair and apologised to his former lover.
He claimed to have not spoken to the former colleague since stepping down from This Morning but admitted to paying for his lawyers to "to independently work on his behalf".
"I’m sorry. And I will forever be sorry. I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified," Phillip added.
In the interview, Phillip insisted his six-month relationship with the runner started when the man was 20 and admitted he is still friends with his former colleague.
Phillip explained his relationship with his younger colleague became more than just friends after a "consensual moment" in his dressing room in 2017.
He insisted their brief affair was not a relationship but admitted he was "struggling" with his sexuality at the time and the pair shared a moment "five or six times".
The former This Morning host also apologised to Holly Willoughby for breaking-up their TV partnership and friendship as he confirmed the ex-presenting-duo no longer speak.
He admitted he lied to his former close friend and apologised for tainting her public image before explaining that their friendship broke down after his paedophile brother was convicted and imprisoned.
Phillip stepped down from This Morning amid rumours of a "feud" with Holly but the former presenter shuts down this suggestion.
Phillip presented his final episode of This Morning on Thursday, May 18, with ITV confirming his immediate exit just two days later.
In a shocking turn-of-events, Phillip subsequently parted ways from ITV and his management company after admitting to having an affair with a younger colleague.
He said: "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."
"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...," he said in a statement released to the Daily Mail.
He continued: “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.”
