Caroline Flack’s mum has broken her silence on the ongoing Phillip Schofield controversy and said the former ITV presenter is “realising even more” what her daughter went through before her death.
Christine Flack said she hoped the previous This Morning host had “done the right thing” by admitting his affair with a younger male colleague and that the matter would be settled despite it being central in the public eye right now.
Former Love Island host Caroline Flack was tragically found dead in February 2020 at the age of only 40, with a coroner later ruling she had killed herself after prosecutors were going to press ahead with an assault charge after an incident involving her boyfriend Lewis Burton.
Speaking to the BBC’s Newsnight, her mother said Phillip, 61, and his former lover were going through an “awful time” and urged them not to do “anything silly”.
During an interview with the BBC’s media editor Amol Rajan on Friday, Phil said he understood how Flack had felt, saying: “If my daughters hadn’t been there then I wouldn’t be here.”
Christine Flack said: “He knew Caroline and I must say, when she died he was very upset. And I think he’s now realising even more what she went through. Being in the media he knew what she was going through.
“But until it happens to you, you feel sad but you don’t understand. He’s trying to put things straight. But I don’t think it will end there.
“I hope he’s done the right thing. I hope he feels better. I hope people now will let it settle. He’s lost his job, he’s lost his world. I think that’s enough. I think that’s enough for anybody.”
It comes as Phillip broke his silence on the issue in a string of recent interviews following his bombshell statement where he apologised to his co-stars, friends and family and ITV bosses for lying about the affair.
Phil told the BBC that the fallout in the media after the affair revelations had been “relentless”, which Christine Flack said was “exactly” how her daughter had felt.
“Every day she would try to be a bit stronger, which I should imagine Phillip is,” she said.
“But you get more and more thrown at you. It’s not only him, it is his daughters. Luckily he’s got them there for support. But it’s his family. His wife, his mum. Everyone that’s around him. Everybody suffers – but not as much as him.”
Christine Flack also criticised ITV, saying the broadcaster had “learned nothing” from her daughter’s death and that on-screen talent was treated as “commodities”.
“I know it’s a lovely job and they earn money. But also the television stations earn money from them… they’re not commodities, they’re people,” she told Newsnight, adding that Phil and the younger man “should have been looked after”.
“I hate the thought that Phillip and this young man are going through such an awful time,” she said.
“It’s bad enough when it’s in private, but when it’s in every single paper and first thing on the news, it’s just ridiculous. Wait to see what happens. Let’s hope for the best. I send my regards to Phillip and the young lad, and hope they get over this. Don’t do anything silly.”
In a statement, ITV said: “The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Phillip made assurances to us and his agency which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.
“As a producer and broadcaster, ITV takes its responsibilities around duty of care seriously and has robust and well-established processes in place to support the mental and physical health of employees and all those we work with.”
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