Disgraced TV presenter Phillip Schofield has given two interviews after it emerged he had a relationship with a much younger male colleague while presenting This Morning.
In interviews published today, Schofield revealed:
• He has had suicidal thoughts since the scandal broke and likened his situation to what Caroline Flack faced before her death
• The first romantic encounter between the presenter and employee happened in Schofield’s dressing room – and the man was 20 when they first had any sexual contact
• The pair had five or six romantic encounters – Schofield denied the man was driven from ITV studios to his London home in taxis paid for by ITV
• He thinks ITV bosses should have completed a more thorough investigation in 2020
• Co-star Holly Willoughby did not know about the affair
Below we take a detailed look at what else we learned from his interviews with The Sun and the BBC.
Image: Phillip Schofield and his then This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby
No ‘hint of sexual attraction’ when pair first met
The 61-year-old said his affair with the former colleague, who is 30 years his junior, was “unwise, but not illegal”when he confirmed the relationship last week.
He has now told the BBC he met the young man when he was invited to a drama school event many years ago.
The man was 15 at the time.
They began communicating on Twitter after they followed each other on the platform after the event, Schofield said.
The former TV presenter added there was “absolutely not” any hint of sexual attraction when they first met.
Dressing room ‘kiss’ and grooming denial
Schofield went on to tell theBBC his first romantic encounter with the colleague took place in his This Morning dressing room when the man was 20.
“In my dressing room one day, something happened,” he said.
“I kissed someone in the workplace, which led on to a little bit more.”
In his interview with The Sun, Schofield insisted: “I did not, I did not (groom him)”.
‘There was no abuse of power’
The former This Morning presenter said in his interview with the tabloid that there are “accusations of all sorts of things” but the relationship “never came across” as an abuse of power.
“If it’s an abuse of power, it’s not in my nature to be that person, but of course it could be perceived as that,” he said.
“But that wasn’t how it felt at the time”, Schofield added.
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0:26
‘I did a bad thing’
‘We were not boyfriends’
Schofield has said he was never in a proper relationship with the male colleague.
He told the BBC he did not love the younger colleague, they were “not boyfriends”, and had five or six romantic encounters over a few months.
Meanwhile, Schofield told The Sun he is still friends with the former This Morning worker.
‘He came to the flat once – he didn’t stay over’
The former presenter has also denied press reports the younger colleague was driven in taxis between Schofield’s London home and the This Morning studios.
“He didn’t frequently come to my flat, he came to the flat once… to my recollection, he didn’t stay over,” he said.
‘I lied consistently’
Schofield told the BBC he “did something very wrong” and then “lied consistently”.
Asked how much his colleagues knew about the affair, Schofield said: “Nobody ever asked me about being gay. When the rumour [about the affair] got bigger, then we were both asked.”
In his interview with The Sun, he suggested he lied to bosses to protect the younger male colleague.
Schofield said: “I didn’t lie to protect my career, he didn’t want his name in public. He wanted his own life.
“The lies grew bigger and bigger and bigger and it was affecting both of us deeply.”
In his interview with the BBC, Schofield emphatically denied a claim he did a deal with a newspaper in 2019 to hide the affair.
A media outlet allegedly agreed not to write the story about the young man in return for an exclusive interview about Schofield coming out as gay.
Biggest apology goes to ‘innocent’ former lover
Schofield was “furiously vaping” when he said his “greatest apology” goes to his former lover, according to The Sun.
He said the young man has experienced the “greatest misery into his totally innocent life” since the affair was confirmed.
“I haven’t spoken to him since this s***show kicked off, but when this was all beginning to get out of control, I paid for his lawyers to independently work on his behalf.”
He added: “I am deeply sorry and I apologise to him because I should have known better… I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified.”
Addressing allegations and rumours posted online, Schofield insisted his former lover did not receive a penny in “hush” money to prevent him from speaking out.
Meanwhile, he told the BBC: “He is an innocent party here. I was older, I should have known better. [The affair] was consensual, but it was my fault.”
Schofield also offered an apology to his former This Morning presenting partner Holly Willoughby and confirmed the pair no longer speak.
Image: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in 2019
‘I have lost everything’
Schofield also talked in the interviews about how his life has changed since the rumours about his affair were confirmed.
He told the BBC he now has to “talk about television in the past tense” – suggesting his career was over – and that it “breaks my heart”.
Schofield added that he has “lost everything”.
He went on to say that he now wonders “what am I going to do with my days?”.
Schofield admitted to The Sun he has not watched a single This Morning episode since his resignation.
Suggestion homophobia has fuelled backlash
The former This Morning presenter said he felt homophobia was a factor in people who disapproved of the affair.
“If it was male-female then it wouldn’t be such a scandal,” he told the BBC.
‘This is how Caroline Flack felt’
Schofield also said he had suicidal thoughts and that his daughters are “scared to let me out of their sight”.
“Last week, if my daughters hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here,” he told the BBC.
He also likened his situation to what TV presenter Caroline Flack faced before she took her own life.
My wife was ‘very, very angry’
Schofield told The Sunhis wife was “very, very angry” after he confessed to her about the affair and said he had previously denied the rumours to her when asked.
He said: “She got off a plane and I phoned her up and texted saying, ‘I need to talk to you’.
“She called back and I told her. She was very, very angry.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Two senior Labour MPs have suggested the prime minister may have to go within months if the government continues to perform poorly.
Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates said his sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – have “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.
Both warned that, if Labour performs badly in next May’s elections across Wales, Scotland and London, it could mark the end of his time in Downing Street.
Coates added: “The level of unhappiness and despair in parts of the Labour Party is so striking that right now, on the first anniversary, I am hearing from ministers in government that Starmer might have to go in months.”
Reform UK is surging in the polls in Wales, while Labour faces a threat from left-wing parties such as the Greens in London.
It comes as the prime minister made it clear that Rachel Reeves has his “complete support” as chancellor and remains integral to his project, Sky News’s political editor Beth Rigby understands.
She looked visibly upset during Prime Minister’s Questions, with a spokesperson claiming she had been affected by a “personal matter”.
A day earlier, Sir Keir’s controversial welfare bill was passed despite a sizeable rebellion from Labour MPs, with major U-turns meaning a new £5bn black hole has appeared in the country’s finances.
One senior figure told Rigby that the pair were as “as close politically” as any chancellor and prime minister have ever been.
“She is going absolutely nowhere,” they added.
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2:58
Welfare vote ‘a blow to the prime minister’
Ms Reeves’s tears sent markets spiralling, with the value of the pound and long-term government bonds falling sharply.
Later in the day Sir Keir, said Ms Reeves will be chancellor for a “very long time to come”.
The prime minister said it was “absolutely wrong” to suggest her tearful appearance in the Commons related to the welfare U-turn.
“It’s got nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with what’s happened this week. It was a personal matter for her,” he said while speaking to the BBC’s podcast Political Thinking with Nick Robinson.
“I’m not going to intrude on her privacy by talking to you about that. It is a personal matter.”
Asked if she will remain in post, he said: “She will be chancellor by the time this is broadcast, she will be chancellor for a very long time to come, because this project that we’ve been working on to change the Labour party, to win the election, change the country, that is a project which the chancellor and I’ve been working on together.”
He said Ms Reeves has done a “fantastic job” and added: “She and I work together, we think together. In the past, there have been examples – I won’t give any specific – of chancellors and prime ministers who weren’t in lockstep. We’re in lockstep.”
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also offered a strong defence for the prime minister and chancellor.
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11:07
Health Secretary: Reeves is ‘resilient’
He told Sky News this morning that Sir Keir has been “consistently underestimated” and was “of course” safe as prime minister.
And he said Ms Reeves was a “tough character” who was ” resilient” and “here to stay”.
Despite making “significant improvements”, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has lost the “trust and confidence” of some victims of grooming gangs, according to a report by the police watchdog.
Michelle Skeer, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said that since 2019, when GMP started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, “the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation”.
The document, published today, said police have live investigations into “multi-victim, multi-offender” child sexual exploitation inquiries, involving 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects.
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2:00
‘Our chance for justice’
But despite recording improvements, a report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) also identified:
• Various training gaps within the investigation team • Lack of consistency in evaluating case files between social care, health and police • Failures to initially support victims meant they had “lost trust and confidence” in police
The report was commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in 2024 to evaluate whether police, councils and health services can protect children from sexual exploitation in the future.
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1:40
Starmer to launch new grooming gang inquiry
The findings were issued as the final part of the CSE (child sexual exploitation) Assurance Review process which started in 2017. The first three reports examined non-recent child sexual exploitation in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale.
Mr Skeer said that the force has been trying to improve its service to those who have experienced sexual exploitation, but previous failings have badly affected trust in GMP.
He said: “For some, trust and confidence in the police had been lost, and the force would not be able to rectify their experiences.
“It is vital that improvements are led by victims’ experiences, and if they do come forward, they are supported, protected and taken seriously.”
A recent report by Baroness Casey found a significant over-representation of Asian men who are suspects in grooming gangs in Greater Manchester, adding though authorities are in “denial” more needs to be done to understand why this is the case.
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6:52
Teen caught in child sex exploitation
Inspectors also said there were “training gaps” in some investigation teams and issues with data sharing, with local councils sometimes not willing to provide detectives with information, leading to “significant delays in investigations” into grooming gangs.
It cites problems with intelligence provided by Manchester City Council, which took months to arrive and “was so heavily redacted that some pages contained only a few words”, the report said.
GMP is the only force in the country to set up a dedicated team to investigate grooming gangs. Called the Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team (CSE MIT) it has about 100 staff and a ringfenced budget.
In October 2024, the force told inspectors there were 59 live multi-victim, multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations, of which 13 were being managed by the CSE MIT.
The report adds: “The force fully accepts that it made mistakes in the past.
“It has taken positive and effective steps to learn from these mistakes and improve how it investigates recent and non-recent child sexual exploitation.”
Separately, the Baird Inquiry published in July 2024 found officers at GMP were abusing their power – making unlawful arrests, unlawful and demeaning strip searches, sometimes treating victims as perpetrators, and traumatising those who have suffered sexual abuse or domestic violence.
The health secretary has offered a strong defence of the prime minister and chancellor – ahead of Sir Keir Starmer setting out his 10-year vision for the NHS.
Wes Streeting dismissed suggestions the prime minister could be forced out in months following the toughest week of his premiership yet, and described Rachel Reeves as “resilient” and would “bounce back” following her tearful appearance in the Commons on Wednesday.
Overnight, two senior sources – a member of the government and a prominent politician – told Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates that they had “put Sir Keir Starmer on notice”.
The health secretary, who was speaking as Sir Keir prepares to set out his 10-year vision for the NHS, said the prime minister had been “consistently underestimated”.
Asked by Kamali Melbourneon Sky News Breakfast whether Sir Keir was “safe”, Mr Streeting said: “Of course.
“Keir Starmer has been consistently underestimated. I wonder when people will learn.
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2:36
Reeves has ‘complete support’
“They said he couldn’t win the Labour leadership, but he did. They said he couldn’t change the Labour Party, but he did.
“They said he couldn’t take the Labour Party from its worst defeat since the 1930s to election victory last year. And he did and now the cynics say he can’t change the country, but he will.”
As for Ms Reeves – whose tearful appearance in the Commons spooked markets after the prime minister initially failed to back her, Mr Streeting said the chancellor was a “tough character” who was “resilient and she will bounce back”.
The health secretary declined to expand on why Ms Reeves was in the chamber at all yesterday, repeating that it was a personal matter.
“Rachel Reeves as chancellor is here to stay,” he continued.
“We need her to get the economy from strength to strength, to make sure that family finances are in better health than we were when we came into office.”
Speculation about the futures of the two most senior members of the government threaten to overshadow the announcement today, which the government says is “one of the most seismic shifts” in the health service’s history.
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3:05
Why has Starmer axed NHS England?
Sir Keir will pledge three main facets of the plan: moving care into the community, digitising the NHS, and a focus on sickness prevention.
The prime minister will announce neighbourhood health services will be rolled out across England to improve access to the NHS and to shift care out of overstrained hospitals.
Sir Keir has already promised thousands more GPs will be trained, and to end the 8am “scramble” for an appointment.
He also previously said his government will bring the NHS into the digital age, with “groundbreaking” new tools to support GPs rolled out over the next two years – including AI to take notes, draft letters and enter data.
And he will promise new contracts that will encourage and allow GP practices to cover a wider geographical area, so small practices will get more support.
Unite, one of the UK’s largest healthcare unions, welcomed the plan cautiously but said staff need to be the focus to ensure people are better looked after.
Sir Keir said: “The NHS should be there for everyone, whenever they need it.
“But we inherited a health system in crisis, addicted to a sticking plaster approach, and unable to face up to the challenges we face now, let alone in the future.
“That ends now. Because it’s reform or die.”
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2:04
Do you want AI listening in on chats with your doctor?
Neighbourhood health services
The newly announced neighbourhood health services will provide “pioneering teams” in local communities, so patients can more conveniently access a full range of healthcare services close to home.
Local areas will be encouraged to trial innovative schemes like community outreach door-to-door to detect early signs of illness and reduce pressure on GPs and A&E.
The aim is to eventually have new health centres open 12 hours a day, six days a week to offer GP services as well as diagnostics, post-operative care and rehab.
They will also offer services like debt advice, employment support, stop smoking help or weight management.
More NHS dentists
Dentists will also be part of the plan, with dental care professionals part of the neighbourhood teams.
Dental “therapists” will carry out check-ups, treatments and referrals, while dental nurses could give education and advice to parents or work with schools and community groups.
Newly qualified dentists will be required to practice in the NHS for a minimum period, which they have said will be three years.