Phillip Schofield’s confession that he had an affair with a young colleague onThis Morning has sparked calls for an independent inquiry.
The 61-year-old, who admitted last week that he lied to his employers, as well as to co-star Holly Willoughby, his agent and his family about the nature of his relationship with his colleague, has resigned from ITV altogether.
In his statement to the Daily Mail shared on Friday, Schofield explained that he had an “unwise” but “not illegal” consensual on-off relationship with someone working on This Morning.
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries told the BBC on Sunday that questions still remained about what safeguarding had been in place and how Schofield’s colleague came to be employed on the daytime TV show.
The employee in question was allegedly 15 when he first met Schofield during a school visit, the Mail on Sunday reports. Lawyers representing Schofield confirmed to the Evening Standard that he met the boy when he was 15, but said the affair began after he started working at ITV, after he turned 18.
Willoughby said on Saturday 27 May that it has been “very hurtful” to find out he lied about the affair, while an ITV spokesperson said the channel felt “badly let down” by Schofield.
