Phillip Schofield has quit This Morning, but he hasn’t cut ties with ITV.
After announcing he would depart the daytime series after 21 years on Saturday (20 May), it was revealed that the host would present the British Soap Awards as planned next month.
Schofield’s decision to step away from This Morning came after a week of claims that he had been embroiled in a behind-the-scenes fallout with his co-host Holly Willoughby.
He said in a statement: “ITV has decided the current situation can’t go on, and I want to do what I can to protect the show that I love.
“Throughout my career in TV – including the very difficult last few days – I have always done my best to be honourable and kind. So I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future.”
Schofield also co-hosts Dancing on Ice with Willoughby. However, a new series set to air in January 2024 is not currently in production, with ITV telling The Independent it would be making “further announcements” about the series, as well as Schofield’s involvement, “in due course”.
Willoughby is taking a break from This Morning, and Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary, who usually present the Friday episode, will temporarily step in as the main hosts.
When Willoughby returns, she will be joined by a member of “the This Morning family” until Schofield’s full-time replacement is decided.
