Phillip Schofield has given his first interview since news of his affair broke. Photo / BBC
Phillip Schofield has given his first interview since news of his affair broke. Photo / BBC
Weeks after news of his affair with a “much younger man” made headlines, Phillip Schofield has broken his silence, claiming he’s “broken and ashamed” but not a groomer.
The former host of ITV’s This Morning, resigned from his role last week and was later dropped by his talent agency after it was revealed he had an affair with a “much younger” man whom he met when he was in his 40s and the boy was just 15.
Now, the star has broken his silence to share details of the affair, including that it “never came across” as an abuse of power.
In an interview with The Sun, the 61-year-old said: “I was unprofessional, one time, in a 41-year career. There is no excuse.” Adding: “No one did anything wrong apart from me.”
The interview marks the first time the star has spoken publicly since the scandal and he used the opportunity to claim he did not groom the man he had an affair with. Taking puffs from a vape, the disgraced former morning show host said: “There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way because we’d become mates. I don’t know about that.
“But of course, I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that anywhere else.”
Phillip Schofield is seen leaving his home on May 18, 2023 in London. Photo / Getty Images
Elsewhere in the interview, the Daily Mail reported the star said his “greatest apology” goes to the young man: “It has brought the greatest misery into his totally innocent life, his totally innocent family, his totally innocent friends. It has brought the greatest grief to them.”
He continued his apology, confessing: “I am deeply sorry and I apologise to him because I should have known better. I should have acted the way I have always acted. I should not have done it.
“I’m sorry. And I will forever be sorry. I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified.”
It is reportedly the first of two interviews Schofield will give on the controversy, as he has also sat down with BBC’s Amol Rajan.
Phillip Schofield also gave an interview with BBC’s Amol Rajan - however it is yet to air. Photo / BBC
While speaking to The Sun, Schofield admitted he did not consider the fact the affair could ruin his career, not until he saw the photo of him and his younger lover.
“At the time I did not think about it possibly ruining my career. I really probably only thought about it when I saw the rumour mill, and saw it growing.
“Then I saw the link with the drama school photo all those years before, and thought, ‘This looks shocking’.”
He also spoke about how he initially denied the affair stating he didn’t do it to “protect” his career but rather to protect the man he had an affair with. “He didn’t want his name in public. He wanted his own life,” Schofield said.
It comes after the Daily Mail reported Schofield’s ex-wife and mother of his two daughters, Stephanie Lowe, is furious and devastated as he had always told her the man was a friend and colleague.
She reportedly had no idea the two were having an affair.
Phillip Schofield with ex-wife Stephanie Lowe and daughters Ruby and Molly. Photo / Getty
Schofield said in his interview with The Sun that Lowe - who works at his former talent agency - was “very very angry”, he also spoke about his former co-host Holly Willoughby, admitting the two have stopped talking completely.
Speaking about Willoughby, he said: “I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.
“Holly did not know. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.
“She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply, as well. So, yeah. If anyone is in any way linking Holly to this - that is absolutely, wholly untrue.”
He admitted his brother’s child sex abuse case was also part of the reason she began distancing herself from her long-time friend.
News of Schofield’s affair made headlines on May 27, with the star admitting he had an affair with a much younger man who worked with him on This Morning. He resigned from ITVover his lies about the relationship.
Schofield with Holly Willoughby on This Morning in 2020 after he announced he is gay. Photo / Supplied
On the Friday after his statement revealing he was stepping down from the show, the 61-year-old issued yet another statement admitting he had an affair and said the relationship was “unwise” but stressed it was “not illegal”. He also said he was “deeply sorry” for having lied to his wife and to ITV about his relationship with a young man.
The statement sparked theories over how old the young man was, with Mail on Sunday alleging yesterday that the two met after the veteran TV presenter gave a talk at a theatre school, placing the boy at 15 years old and Schofield in his 40s.
However, the affair reportedly did not begin until the boy was older and of legal age. It followed Schofield’s teary on-air confession in February 2020 - after 27 years of marriage to his wife - that he is gay.
Following Schofield’s confession, ITV released a statement last Saturday (NZT) admitting it investigated allegations of Schofield’s affair with the younger employee as early as 2020.
The statement claimed it had questioned both Schofield and the younger man, but both had “repeatedly denied” the rumours. Holly Willoughby also revealed that Schofield had lied to her about the affair.
UK-based Kiwi journalist Dan Wootton. Photo / Getty Images
At the time, an ITV spokeswoman dismissed Wootton’s 2019 story, stating: “It’s deeply disappointing and unfair for Phillip to be the target of this sort of malicious gossip.”
Wootton added: “As we know now, this was not ‘malicious gossip’.”
