ITV has issued a statement after Phillip Schofield resigned from the station while admitting an affair with a younger male colleague on This Morning. On Friday (May 26) Schofield was also dropped by his talent agency after the presenter said he lied about the "consensual on-off relationship".
A spokesperson for ITV said the broadcaster was “deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield” after the presenter admitted to an affair with a young This Morning colleague. They added in a statement: “The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust.
“Phillip 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.”
Schofield's agency, YMU, said it had learned “important new information” about the presenter that “contradicted” what he had previously told them. On Friday, the former This Morning host announced he had quit ITV entirely, and would no longer be hosting the British Soap Awards.
In a statement, Mary Bekhait, chief executive of the YMU Group, said the agency has “parted company” with Schofield “with immediate effect”. The statement added: “Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU’s whole business, defining everything we do. Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust.
“This week, we have learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield. These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU, as well as the external advisors we had brought in to support him.
“As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect.”
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Schofield also confirmed he would no longer be represented by the agency, saying: “It is with the most profound regret that after 35 years of being faultlessly managed by YMU I have agreed to step down from their representation with immediate effect.”
He had faced a series of controversies over past months, including reports of a rift with his long-time This Morning and Dancing On Ice co-host Holly Willoughby, his brother’s sex abuse trial and a furore over his visit to the late Queen’s lying-in-state with Willoughby as journalists.
