Phillip Schofield has shared the text he sent to former co-star Holly Willoughby after admitting to lying about an affair with a younger This Morning colleague.
The disgraced former host of the ITV daytime series reflected on his friendship with Willoughby after he quit following reports of a feud between the presenting duo.
A week later, Schofield shared a statement in which he said he lied about an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a colleague. He was subsequently dropped by his agent and also resigned from ITV, whose bosses said they were “badly let down” by the presenter.
In a new interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, Schofield said he text Willoughby about the scandal to apologise for lying to her about the affair.
“The last time we had a conversation was when I texted Holly and said, ‘Don’t reply’ – this was after the statement last week – ‘Don’t reply, you’re probably not allowed to, but I am deeply deeply sorry that I lied to you,’” he said.
He also told The Sun that the affair “was the one secret in our sanctuary that was never mentioned”, adding that he has “lost my best friend”.
On Saturday (28 May), one day after Schofield’s statement, Willoughby wrote on Instagram that it had “taken time to process yesterday’s news”, adding: “When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
Addressing rumours that Willoughby knew about the affair, Schofield said: “Holly did not know. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you’.
“She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply, as well. So yeah. If anyone is in any way linking Holly to this; that is absolutely, wholly untrue.”
He also used the chance to refute any claims of a feud with Willoughby.
“I had no feud with Holly. She is my TV sister. But quite rightly, when I am in the middle of a s*** show with bad press over something where I have done nothing wrong – in fact, I did everything right – it’s a witch hunt. And that strips that away.
“Quite rightly, she is going to take a step back and think, ‘I have to step back from this’, and I understand that completely.”
Find the five biggest revelations from Schofield’s first televised post-scandal interview here.
