ITV bosses were warned over serious concerns about Phillip Schofield's younger lover, according to reports.
The 61-year-old quit This Morning in May before admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a runner, who worked on the show.
ITV chiefs told MPs last month they were unaware of concerns about the production assistant, who worked with Phil on the daytime show during their relationship.
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However, it's now been reported sources at the channel believe bosses, including managing director for entertainment Kevin Lygo, knew of an email from a senior manager at Loose Women, which outlined concerns about the runner's wellbeing.
A source told the Daily Mail : "Early 2020 was a very difficult time for a number of people working on Loose Women. They were deeply saddened to see Person X's mental health deteriorate. They would see him struggle at work but also outside of it, too; they witnessed him in some worrying states.
"His behaviour had become increasingly volatile, which now all makes sense. At the time various people had heard rumours about his relationship and it was thought that the fact he needed help with his mental health ought to be escalated to those higher up so he could get some support.
"It was then that the senior manager decided to put it in writing so there would be a paper trail of their concerns."
However, when questioned about the alleged correspondence, Mr Lygo replied: "I don't think any that I can recall, honestly," before John Nicolson MP revealed a copy of an email purporting to show concerns about Phillip's conduct were raised in 2021.
The correspondence – allegedly sent to an ITV staff member by someone on Mr Lygo's team – said that at a meeting on October 4, 2021, the staff member 'referred to concerns about the conduct of Phillip Schofield and another colleague working on This Morning'.
The email continued: "I'm not able to share all the details, but I can find no evidence to suggest that Kevin Lygo failed to take action on the allegations that you have raised with him."
The young runner worked on Loose Women after he left This Morning. A number of panellists on the all-female show are said to have voiced their concerns about his welfare to the show's executives.
Eamonn Holmes, who is married to Loose Women anchor Ruth Langsford, said that the production assistant, now in his mid-20s, was 'fragile' and 'in a bad way' during the early months of 2020.
Regarding the alleged correspondence about his wellbeing, an ITV spokesman told the Mirror: "We do not have a record of the emails described."
