Phillip Schofield’s family has so far remained silent after his sudden departure from This Morning.
Schofield announced he was leaving the ITV talk show on Saturday “with immediate effect”, amid widespread reports of a feud with his long-term presenting partner Holly Willoughby.
In the first broadcast since his exit, Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary praised Schofield as “one of the best live television broadcasters this country has ever had”.
However, his two daughters Molly and Ruby Schofield, and his estranged wife Stephanie Lowe have not yet publically addressed the 61-year-old’s shock departure from the show.
The TV presenter has been married to Ms Lowe, 59, for 30 years after they met while working at the BBC and became parents to Molly in 1993 and Rub in 1996.
Ms Lowe threw her support behind her husband after he came out as gay in a statement made on his Instagram account in February 2020.
At the time, she told The Sun: “I love Phillip, as much today as I ever have, and always will.
“We’ve been awestruck by the strength and love of our precious girls, even as they’ve been trying to make sense of it all for themselves.
“Our family have also been so supportive and will help us going forward. Although this is difficult for us all, I support Phillip in taking this brave step.”
Molly also supported her father and posted a picture of the family on holiday with the caption “Love you always, so proud of you”.
Schofield and Ms Lowe are reportedly still married, but the TV presenter is understood to have moved out of the family home in Henley-On-Thames.
Philip’s father Brian died after a long-running heart problem in May 2008. His mother Pat is in her 80s.
Schofield has a younger brother, Timothy Schofield, who was jailed last week for child sex offences.
Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court.
In a statement released by his lawyer following the verdicts, the former ITV presenter said: “I no longer have a brother.”
“My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family,” his statement said.
“I hope that their privacy will now be respected. If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.
“These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.”
Holly Willoughby will be back in the studio to present This Morning from Monday June 5. It is not yet known who will present the show for the rest of the week.
