Phillip Schofield's replacement for the British Soap Awards has been announced.
The ceremony was left without a host when the 61-year-old quit ITV with immediate effect last week. Mr Schofield stepped away from the channel after he admitted having an affair while working on This Morning.
He said: "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."
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It has now been confirmed that former Loose Women star Jane McDonald will host the ceremony, which will take place on June 3. An announcement on Twitter said: "We're pleased to announce our host for The British Soap Awards 2023...the fabulous Jane McDonald!. As a super huge soap fan she's in for a treat as we celebrate all our wonderful soaps in a star studded glittering event that airs this Tuesday at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX."
An ITV spokesperson issued a statement in the aftermath of Mr Schofield's exit. They told our sister site, Mirror Online: "We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield.
"The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Philip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down. We accept his resignation from ITV and therefore can confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as had previously been stated."
ITV has now instructed a barrister to carry out an external review of the facts, chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said in a letter seen by the PA news agency.
The letter was sent to culture secretary Lucy Frazer, DCMS Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage and Ofcom's chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes, in the wake of Schofield's departure from ITV last week. The letter mentions the "significant media coverage concerning Phillip Schofield" and adds that: "As you would expect we take the matter extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records over the weekend."
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