Staff working on This Morning are reportedly planning to go to HR this week as a collective and threaten a mass walkout, over a series of ignored complaints in relation to the Phillip Schofield scandal.
ITV confirmed they had previously received reports from several members of staff about a relationship between the presenter and a much younger runner working on the show.
A former TV executive has claimed to have directly warned ITV management that some of Schofield’s disgruntled former colleagues could go public in 2021, and was later told by HR the matter was “ongoing”.
ITV bosses issued a statement stating they had probed reports of a relationship between Schofield, 61, and an ex-colleague in his 20s, but were lied to by both.
They also said multiple staff members failed to provide evidence of the affair “beyond hearsay and rumour”, so they took no further action.
Phillip's admission of he affair this week is said to have left his former co-workers "angry and stunned", with one telling the Mirror: "He lied point blank to staff at every level."
The presenter released a statement earlier in the week, admitting he had lied to his family, the media and his colleagues about the nature of a relationship he had with a former runner on the show.
Former This Morning host Eamonn Holmes has stated that four “high members” of ITV management were already aware of “what sort of man” Phil was before he came forward.
Eamonn took to Twitter to point the finger of blame at the show’s bosses, writing: “Ruth and I [were] deceived and lied to... What transpired took us for fools. The man told us complete lies and we unfortunately believed him.
“Schofield has finally been caught out, but he’s not the only guilty party. Four high members of ITV management knew what sort of man he was.”
A source close to Holmes last night also confirmed that, while he was unaware of Schofield’s relationship, he did his best to speak up for staff he felt were treated badly while on the show. The insider said: “Eamonn did what he could while he was there.
“He felt those people needed to have a voice. But at the time, nothing was done and he feels ITV have questions to answer.”
