Piers Morgan has defended Phillip Schofield after he admitted having an affair with a 'much younger' ITV colleague.
The former This Morning presenter, 61, spoke out for the first time since coming clean about the on-off relationship last week. During interviews with The Sun and the BBC this week, he clarified that the man wasn't underage during their fling.
He said he and the colleague were 'mates' and their friendship became sexual after a consensual encounter in Phillip's dressing room. The man was 20 years old. Phillip also said he was 'in a mess' with his sexuality at the time.
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The former This Morning presenter resigned from ITV last week and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to the 'unwise but not illegal' fling. He said he has since 'lost everything' and said it has had a 'catastrophic effect' on his mind.
Now, former Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has weighed in on the media interest. Taking to Twitter, he said Phillip looked 'right on the edge.'
He wrote: "Unless Phillip Schofield’s ex-lover contradicts his version of events to @TheSun & BBC, then it’s time to stop this relentless persecution of a guy who’s lost everything and looks right on the edge to me. He doesn’t seem to have committed any crime, and he’s not a Govt minister."
Piers, who presents on TalkTV, also previously defended Phillip following his This Morning exit, while some of his former co-stars were less sympathetic following the news.
Phillip announced he was stepping down from This Morning with 'immediate effect' just under two weeks ago. The following week, he admitted to the extramarital affair but insisted it was not the reason for his leaving his show.
In his statement about the affair, Phillip apologised to his family and former colleagues for misleading them. “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning,” he confirmed.
“Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship.
"That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.”
He added: “I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.”
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