Holly Willoughby has shared a statement about Phillip Schofield’s This Morning affair admission.
The presenter, who co-hosted the ITV daytime series alongside Schofield for 12 years, posted an update on her Instagram Stories on Saturday (27 May), saying: “It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news.”
Willoughby said she had “asked Phil directly” about whether rumours of his relationship with a This Morning colleague were true, but he assured her they were not.
“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not,” she wrote, adding: “It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
On Friday (26 May), it was revealed that Schofield been dropped by his agent after the TV host admitted to lying about the “consensual” relationship he had while being married to his wife.
The news comes a week after he quit the series with immediate effect amid reports of a “feud” with Willoughby.
At the time, Willoughby said of Schofield: “It’s been over 13 great years presenting This Morning with Phil and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for all of his knowledge, his experience and his humour. The sofa won’t feel the same without him.”
Holly Willoughby shares Phillip Schofield statement on Instagram
(Instagram)
In Schofield’s statement to the Daily Mail shared on Friday, he explained that he had an “unwise” but “consensual on-off relationship with someone working on This Morning”.
The presenter also revealed he has officially cut ties with ITV altogether. An ITV spokesperson said the channel felt “badly let down” by Schofield, and accepted his resignation.
The channel also revealed it had investigated rumours of Schofield’s relationship, but were “lied” to by the host.