Phillip Schofield has broken his silence on his shocking affair with an ex ITV colleague who he met when the young man was just 15.
The former This Morning presenter has been under intense media scrutiny since he came clean about his anonymous ex-lover last week, who he formed an "unwise but not illegal" sexual relationship with when the man was 20.
In the emotional interviews with BBC's Amol Rajan as well as the Sun, Schofield said he has "lost everything" but felt he had no choice but to be honest as the "the lie got too big for both of us".
The disgraced TV host's confession shocked the world, including ITV bosses and best friend Holly Willoughby, who he claimed had no idea about their relationship as he said both parties repeatedly lied to everyone.
Now the truth is out about Schofield, he says he completely understands why people are angry he abused his power and lied, but he admitted he is struggling mentally to deal with the backlash of his "unforgivable" actions.
Here are five key moments from the bombshell interview.
Phillip denies being a 'groomer'
The former ITV This Morning host recently admitted his affair with his younger colleague but vehemently denies being a groomer.
Schofield has argued that his lover was of legal age when they first started engaging in sexual relations, and denies feeling any 'sexual attraction' when he first met him when he was 15.
The TV personality and the unnamed man first met while he was still in school and the 61-year-old followed him on Twitter where they briefly exchanged innocent messages about working in the industry.
Defending his decision to start speaking to the then teenager about his career, Phil said: "What's wrong with talking to someone no matter what age they are, does that mean if you're following anyone on Twitter that you don't give advice?"
He continued: "I've done it all my life. I'm best friends with the people who got me into television, and I've always believed in paying it forward, so I didn't think about it."
Their relationship turned sexual when the anonymous man was 20 and was working as a runner at This Morning.
The former Dancing on Ice presenter confirmed that during this time, they had "five, maybe six" sexual encounters, adding: "Nothing more than that".
Phil said that he continued to give the man work because he was a "very good runner" but their romance drifted while he was still at the studios.
Schofield explained that he is paying for independent lawyers to represent the man in question and his statement in which he described their relationship as "legal" and "consensual" was approved by both of their representatives as he added: “I am not a groomer.”
Suicidal thoughts
The shamed TV star admitted that if it had not been for his two daughters, he would not still be here right now.
After the news of Phillip's bombshell affair hit the headlines, Schofield said he considered taking his own life because of the constant hate he is receiving in the press.
During the emotional BBC interview, the 61-year-old questioned: "Do you want me to die? Because that's where I am. I have lost everything".
Speaking of how his girls are pulling him through, he said: "My girls saved my life. They haven't left me for a moment because they're scared to let me out of their sight."
"They said to me, 'Don't you dare do this on our watch. We're supposed to be looking after you'. If my girls hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here because I don't see a future."
Phil also touched on Caroline Flack, who tragically took her own life in 2020 after she was relentlessly hounded by the press as he said he thinks he can now understand how she felt.
He asked: "How much do you want a man to take and are you truly only happy when he's dead? This is how Caroline Flack felt and it didn't stop."
Although he has a general idea about what's being written about him, Phil said he hasn't looked at "a single thing" about the scandal as he knows that would be the "final push" over the edge.
Friends not boyfriends
Although their brief relationship came to an end, Schofield admitted that he is still friends with the anonymous man and insists they were never in love.
The pair's sexual relations began after their friendship formed but Phil denies it was ever anything serious - however he acknowledges that his actions are "unforgivable".
The physical affair started out in Phil's dressing room one day after he kissed the man but he claims the pair kept their romance a secret from everyone at ITV, including Holly Willoughby, and his wife.
He insists: “We weren’t boyfriends. We weren’t in a relationship. I was really in a mess with my own sexuality at the time and it just happened.”
When asked when he last spoke to the man, he replied: "As I engaged the lawyer for him. He needed independent support and so that was the last time, a couple of weeks ago.
"We still stayed mates. We're still mates. We still stayed friendly".
Schofield described his friend as an "innocent" and "vulnerable" person who did “nothing wrong” and has begged people to “leave him alone”.
He said that he has not asked the man to sign an NDA and said he is free to speak to the media if that's what he wants to do.
The former ITV host added that he feels homophobia is coming into play with the scandal as he suggested that he would not be facing the same amount of backlash for their age difference if he were a straight man.
He said: “Attraction is attraction. It’s no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world. There shouldn’t be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in.”
Phil admits 'end of career'
Schofield said he has accepted that his career in television has come to an end after more than 40 years in the industry and he no longer has a future in presenting after his confession.
ITV cut all ties with the former host after he admitted his affair and the television network released a statement saying it was "deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit".
The TV network reportedly carried out an investigation into Schofield and his ex-colleague's relationship once rumours began to circulate but they never discovered the truth.
Speaking of the end of his profession, he said: "I have brought myself down. I am done. I have to talk about television in the past tense which breaks my heart."
He was asked: "Where do you think your career goes from here?" before honestly responding: "Nowhere."
Earlier this week, Schofield was also let go as an ambassador for the Prince's Trust in light of the controversy which he said had "broke his heart".
Apology to Holly
Rumours of a feud between the once dynamic duo Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby had been circulating for quite some time before Phil's bombshell confession last week.
Until recently, the two had been best friends and co-hosts of ITV's This Morning and Dancing on Ice for a number of years.
During his tell-all interview, Phil admitted that Willoughby never responded to his last text in which he apologised to her for lying.
He explained: "I WhatsApped her on the day that I put the statement up and I said to her, 'I know you can't reply. You're probably not allowed to but I am so desperately, desperately sorry."
He also shut down widespread speculation that Holly knew about the affair as he regretfully said: “I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.”
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily Showbiz newsletter here .
