Phillip Schofield has had to speak about his friendship with Simon Schofield after he was mistakenly speculated to be his boyfriend.
The 58-year-old This Morning co-presenter shared a photo on his Instagram which showed he was out for a walk with 36-year-old singer and actor Simon, after lockdown restrictions were eased.
Phillip came out as gay earlier this year and had to shut down those believing that he had found new love.
He captioned the pic: "First socially distanced walk with a mate!" he had captioned the snap.
"Thank you @sischofe. last person I had a drink with before the wheels fell off, first I've seen as we try to reattach them!"
As fans speculated wildly as to who Simon is, Phillip set the record straight by commenting: "Yes! A mate! That's what they still call family friends who you've known for 20 years and come round to check if you're OK."
Looking back over the past couple of decades, photos show that Simon has been a big part of Schofe's life, hailing back to to the days when Phillip was a West End star.
In 2016, Simon was the producer for production The Knights Of Music, which Phillip starred in.
It is believed that Phillip and Simon first met when the stage producer was still a teenager.
Simon had made his debut on the West End when he was just 12 years old, taking the title role in Oliver!
Phillip famously swapped television for the stage in the 1990s, taking the lead character role in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the 1990s.
Simon went on to be part of West End collaborative The Barricade Boys, belting out stage numbers from the biggest shows.
Phillip is seen pictured with the group before one of their performances.
Simon is engaged to dancer Bethany Dows after popping the question on Valentine's Day 2019.
There are plenty of boozy pics on his Instagram of his nights out with Schofe, in which they show that they enjoy each other's company, as well as a tipple or two.
In one drunken video of themselves in the street they filmed in February 2018, the pair joked about a lime they'd found.
A slightly worse for wear Phillip says to Simon "You're a d**k. You're a d**k," as they both try and use the camera.
Holding up his citrus fruit, Phil then gasps: "Look! It's the mail on-lime!"
Since coming out, Phillip has remained married to his wife Stephanie Lowe, with who he shares adult daughters Ruby and Mollie Schofield.
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