ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall is set to face questions about the broadcaster's safeguarding and complaint handling after Phillip Schofield admitted an affair with a younger ITV employee.
Dame Carolyn McCall was written to by the Culture Media and Sport (CMS) Committee today and asked to answer questions from MPs in Parliament in a session which will take place on June 14 at 10am.
The ITV chief executive, 61, received the letter in response to correspondence from Dame Carolyn announcing ITV has launched an external investigation into Phillip's statement and departure, after the broadcaster conducted an internal investigation into the affair allegations in 2020 but were "lied" to.
Yesterday's letter from the ITV chief was sent to culture secretary Lucy Frazer, DCMS Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage and Ofcom’s chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes, in the wake of Schofield’s departure from ITV last week.
It mentioned the "significant media coverage concerning Phillip Schofield" and added that: "As you would expect we take the matter extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records over the weekend."
The letter also mentioned that ITV records show "when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in late 2019/early 2020 ITV investigated".
It read: "Both parties were questioned then and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours, as did Phillip’s then agency YMU. In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on the This Morning and wider Daytime team and were not provided with, and did not find any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.
"Given the ongoing rumours, we continued to ask questions of both parties, who both continued to deny the rumours, including as recently as this month."
The letter went on to state out facts, following what Dame Carolyn says has been "a lot of inaccuracy" in reporting and she added the former employee Schofield admitted to an affair with has been offered support throughout.
It said: "The ITV employee was aged 19 when he first did work experience at This Morning in 2015 and 20 years old when he applied and succeeded in securing a job as a runner on the show.
"He subsequently applied for and was successful in securing a promotion to Loose Women in 2019. He left ITV in 2021. As you would imagine given the social media scrutiny of him, we have offered him our support throughout this period and indeed are still doing so.
"The employee has made it clear that he does not wish to be named or identified in connection with this matter. We would be grateful if you would be mindful of this."
Former This Morning host Phillip, 61, admitted to having an affair with a "younger" ITV employee – which he said was "unwise" but "not illegal". He later resigned from ITV completely and was dropped by his talent agent, YMU.
In his statement, which can be read in full here, he said: "I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning. Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over."
He later added: "In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven't been truthful about the relationship. But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
"I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife."
Following on from his bombshell statement, a spokesperson for ITV said on Friday the broadcaster was "deeply disappointed" by the "admissions of deceit".
"The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust," they added.
"Phillip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down."
A later statement from the broadcaster said an internal investigation was launched into allegations of Phillip's affair, but they were "lied" to.
The statement read: "Further to our statement last night, ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.
"Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip's then agency YMU.
"In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.
"Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship."
