What have we learned from the Phillip Schofield interviews?
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.
ITV has launched an external review to establish the facts around the affair between Schofield and the former TV runner – after the presenter lied to his bosses, colleagues and wife about the relationship.
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.
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 the BBC 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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‘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.”
Read more:
Timeline of Schofield’s ITV departure, rift and affair
Why Schofield’s admission should kill off his career
Schofield’s statement in full after stepping down
Key extracts from ITV letter to government
Schofield denies doing deal with newspaper
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.
Read more:
Willoughby accuses Schofield of lying to her about affair
Schofield dropped as ambassador of Prince’s Trust charity
Eamonn Holmes claims there was a ‘total cover-up’
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 Sun his 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.
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
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A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
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.
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