Phillip Schofield shared a full timeline of his relationship with a former colleague that sparked his ITV exit.
The former This Morning host quit the channel last week when he admitted to having an affair with a younger man while working on the show. The 61-year-old broadcaster opened up about the incident in a tell all interview with BBC's Amol Rajan.
Mr Schofield denied allegations that he groomed the colleague as he provided a timeline of events. of their relationship The broadcaster confirmed they were first introduced when the person in question was aged 15.
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He said : "I was invited by a friend of mine to go to a school, which is something I've done thousands of times. Whether it was immediately or sometime after [his friend] said would you follow him on Twitter because he's a fan."
Mr Schofield was asked by his friend to follow the 15-year-old back on Twitter as he was a fan. The former TV presenter agreed as he insisted they hardly ever messaged and the conversation strictly centred on career advice.
He said: "I follow 11,300 people, and in all the time I've been on Twitter, there has never been a whiff of impropriety." Mr Schofield revealed the young man expressed an interest in television aged 19 and asked if he could visit the This Morning studios for work experience, which the broadcaster arranged.
He added: "I've done that all my life. I'm best friends with the people who got me into television and I've always believed in paying it forward." Mr Schofield insisted the relationship up until this point was never flirtatious.
The broadcaster explained how when he was aged 20, he took the younger man out for something to eat after a day's work experience. He said: "He was going to be picked up and I was worried he was going to be out there on his own so I said lets go have a bite to eat. It wasn't a meal, it was just waiting for someone to pick him up."
The younger man eventually secured a job on This Morning and Mr Schofield explained this was all based on his own merit. He then explained the relationship only turned sexual when the man was aged "20/21".
He said: "He'd been working at the show for a few months and we'd become mates. We were mates, we hung around the studio together. And then in my dressing room one day, something happened."
Mr Schofield admitted his regret and branded his actions "unforgivable" as he said: "Obviously I will regret forever for him and for me. Mostly him but that happened maybe four or five times over the next few months and I know it's unforgivable but we weren't boyfriends. We weren't in a relationship."
The former ITV host said he was in a "poor mental state with his own sexuality at the time" as he explained how the relationship came to an end. He added: "I thought that was bad but it's nothing like this. It just sort of drifted. We've still stayed mates. We're still mates. I got him work because, living in London, you're obviously struggling. I got him runner's jobs on other shows I did because he was a very good runner and a mate and someone you know."
Mr Schofield said they are still friends and he has arranged independent legal advice for his former colleague.
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