Wherever you turn, you won't be hard-pressed to find a story about Phillip Schofield in the news at the moment. The TV star's love life and exit from This Morning have been front page news for several weeks, following his admission to an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a much younger ITV colleague.
The 61-year-old suddenly left the show after weeks of rumours of a feud between himself and This Morning co-presenter Holly Willoughby. Days later he publicly confessed he had lied to his family, colleagues, and management about having an affair with the younger member of staff at ITV, while still married to his now-ex-wife Stephanie Lowe.
Following the affair revelation, the identity of Phillip's former lover has become of great interest for readers. However, many mainstream media titles are not naming or picturing the man in question.
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As the Mirror explains, this is out of respect for his privacy. The decision has not been made on legal grounds and the social media rumours of injunctions and super-injunctions are wide of the mark.
Phillip claimed he hid the fling in order to "protect" his former colleagues. But what is known is that the pair first met when the TV producer-to-be was 15-years-old and Phillip visited the teen's drama school.
Phillip later secured him an interview for a job at This Morning and he was hired as a production assistant for ITV when he was 18. The former ITV presenter, who was in his 50s at the time, began a friendship with the young man which subsequently turned into an affair.
Phillip insists that the relationship was "unwise" but not "illegal" and the on-off relationship is said to have started when the runner was over 18. Phil's admission about the affair was shared with the Daily Mail and read: "The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning.
"I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning. 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...
"I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
"I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it."
As well as parting ways with ITV, the TV host has also been dropped by his management company of 35 years, YMU Group. Mary Bekhait, the Group CEO of YMU Group, said: "Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU's whole business, defining everything we do. Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust.
"This week, we have learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield. These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU, as well as the external advisors we had brought in to support him. As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect."
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