Phillip Schofield: ITV boss denies turning ‘blind eye’ to former This Morning presenter’s ‘deeply inappropriate’ affair
ITV bosses have denied turning “a blind eye” to Phillip Schofield’s “deeply inappropriate” affair with a junior colleague, telling MPs they would have taken action had they been presented with evidence and not “rumours”.
Dame Carolyn McCall, the broadcaster’s chief executive, faced questions on Schofield’s departure from This Morning alongside managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel Kyla Mullins, during a culture, media and sport committee session in parliament.
They told the hearing that both Schofield and the younger male colleague, referred to as Person X, “repeatedly denied” having a relationship until the presenter’s shock admission in May, and pushed back against claims it was an “open secret” – as made by people including former Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan.
Dame Carolyn said bosses “were repeatedly told nothing was happening”, and both men denied it “both formally and informally”, with Person X being questioned on 12 occasions over a period of time.
“There was only hearsay and rumour and speculation,” ITV’s chief executive said. “Nobody on the board would have turned a blind eye to something as serious as this.”
If evidence had emerged about the relationship, bosses “would have acted very swiftly”, she said.
During the session, the ITV bosses also responded to allegations of a “toxic” environment on ITV’s daytime shows, and faced questions about other issues such as the suicides of Love Island contestants and presenter Caroline Flack, and allegations about “abuse” and “bullying” on The X Factor.
Singer Rebecca Ferguson recently hit out over allegations of ‘abuse’ on The X Factor. Pic: Ken McKay/Talkback Thames/Shutterstock
The hearing was called after Schofield, 61, resigned from ITV and admitted to the “unwise but not illegal” affair which started when Person X was 20. The presenter was subsequently dropped by his talent agency, YMU.
Dame Carolyn told MPs that the “imbalance of power, the imbalance of dynamics” made the relationship “deeply inappropriate”.
ITV bosses deny NDAs and gagging orders
The hearing was told the matter was looked into at around the time when Schofield came out as gay on This Morning in February 2020, supported by his then co-presenter Holly Willoughby.
Read more:
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Key extracts from ITV chief executive’s letter on Schofield departure
Dame Carolyn confirmed Schofield has been “receiving counselling” since his exit from the show and that she is “very concerned” about his welfare.
She also confirmed there is “no gagging order or NDA” to stop Person X from speaking out about the situation, and denied he was given a “pay-off” when he left ITV. The hearing was told he received a standard redundancy payment.
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Schofield’s interviews explained
The ITV bosses were also asked about how the young man came to work at ITV. MPs heard he applied for work experience and listed Schofield as a family friend, but this was not that unusual and the application did not ring “alarm bells”.
Person X carried out work experience at This Morning for about two weeks when he was 19, and “impressed people” before he was later offered a longer-term fixed contract, the politicians were told.
ITV boss is no stranger to drama – but is she aware of everything happening behind the scenes?
Being the big boss Dame Carolyn McCall has had to steer ITV through a sizeable chunk of off-screen drama – from Piers Morgan quitting and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host Jeremy Clarkson’s controversial columns, to the axing of Jeremy Kyle and Love Island’s post-show care.
She is no stranger to helping the channel ride out the headlines, and – subject to more than two hours of questioning from MPs – she claimed she welcomed the opportunity to “set out some of the facts” of what’s been happening at ITV.
She has needed to. ITV bosses tried persistently, she claimed, to find out what was going on between former This Morning star Phillip Schofield and a young runner.
The broadcaster’s argument about why no action was taken effectively boiled down to: how can you properly investigate with no concrete evidence?
Schofield’s fragile mental state surrounding his coming out as gay was also cited as a reason they felt they had to tread carefully. There was a focus on welfare, which is no doubt a key concern, and particularly in recent years after the death of Love Island presenter Caroline Flack.
Accusations that the runner in question had been made to sign a non-disclosure agreement were dismissed, while a “pay-off” that has been speculated about was explained as a standard redundancy payment after the COVID pandemic.
Is there a toxic working environment at This Morning? The bosses insisted no, and presented a rosy picture of how staff, when surveyed, gave glowing assessments of their employer. Whistleblowing numbers were widely displayed in staff toilets, they said, and in lifts, and every effort is made to make sure staff feel comfortable enough to express their concerns.
Professional boundaries were crossed, the power balance was “inappropriate”, Dame Carolyn admitted.
But her shocked reaction to claims brought up that viewers, on occasion, were referred to as “Tower Block Traceys” in production meetings was indicative of the fact that while she is across policy on a corporate level, management are unlikely to be aware of what’s being said further down the food chain.
Clearly, there is a disconnect there.
Is there a ‘toxic’ culture at This Morning?
Later in the session, MPs asked about allegations of a toxic culture at This Morning, and Dame Carolyn described these as “deeply” disappointing.
She confirmed the show has received two complaints about bullying or harassment in five years, and said these were “both taken very seriously”. One of these was from the show’s former resident doctor Dr Ranj Singh, who raised concerns about “bullying and discrimination” and afterwards said he felt like he was “managed out” for whistleblowing.
“It deeply disappoints me but we do not recognise that at This Morning, we have tangible evidence to tell you where the vast majority of people at daytime at This Morning are extremely engaged and very motivated,” Dame Carolyn said.
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MP John Nicholson told the panel he had received many messages from employees past and present at ITV talking about the bullying culture at the broadcaster, with one describing daytime TV as “particularly toxic”.
Dame Carolyn replied: “They’re very disappointing to hear. Deeply distressing. I’ve said we’ve had two official complaints, both of them investigated – it does not fill me with anything but sorrow.”
She also described comments from This Morning editor Martin Frizell as “foolish”, after he referred to aubergines when asked by Sky News about allegations of a “toxic” work environment on the programme.
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This Morning boss: ‘Do you like aubergine?’
“I think Martin has made a mistake, I think he knows he made a mistake, I don’t think he intended to say that. It was a foolish comment; an ill-advised comment, I absolutely agree,” she said.
An independent review into the facts by a barrister, commissioned by ITV, was also discussed during the hearing, with Dame Carolyn saying: “There will be things to learn.”
The barrister will review complaints made since 1 January 2016, and consider whether steps taken to deal with them were “appropriate and adequate”.
The review is expected to be completed by the end of September.
The session ended with chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage saying the committee wants to be confident that “ITV isn’t letting star power and favouritism damage the lives or careers of those working there”.
Dame Carolyn responded by saying that ITV takes “every allegation about our culture seriously, but I think it would be very wrong to depict ITV as having an issue”.
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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