This Morning presenter Alison Hammond broke down in tears on the show today (June 2) as she and Dermot O'Leary finally addressed the elephant in the room. In the last few weeks, the ITV's flagship daytime show has been shrouded in controversy and speculation regarding a supposed "feud" between Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, before the latter left the show last month.
Following his departure from the show, Schofield admitted that he had an affair with a much younger male colleague, which saw them engage in sexual activity "five or six times" during his marriage to Stephanie Lowe. In two bombshell interviews with The Sun and the BBC released yesterday, June 1, the 61-year-old expressed regret for his actions as he claimed his career was over.
In the wake of the interviews, usual Friday presenters Hammond and O'Leary returned to the studio for another This Morning episode, which opened with them directly addressing the headlines, stories and rumours about their former colleague. Holding back tears as footage from Schofield's interviews was shown, Hammond said: "I loved Phillip Schofield. It's weird because I still love him.
Read more: Phillip Schofield asks if people 'want him to die' and says his career is over
"As a family, we're all really struggling to process everything. My mum always said use your Bible as your sat nav.
"He without sin cast the first stone. I don't want to say anything bad because I am in conflict. There's only so much a man can take and I don't want a death in this situation."
O'Leary admitted: "It's the top story this morning and we don't want to to shy away from it. It's difficult to cover this story as a friend and a colleague."
At the start of the week, the duo calmly confronted claims that there was a "toxic environment" on This Morning, as they shared that they "love" working on the show. "We know we have been in the news at the moment," O'Leary said.
"But just from both of us, and the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you." Hammond added: "We really do and that's exactly what we're gonna do - we're continuing to do that."
Regular guest Gyles Brandreth, who made an appearance during Monday morning's episode, also gave his thoughts about working on This Morning. "We're very happy to be here, can I say that?" he asked.
"This is a happy place to work, I enjoy coming in here. We are happy people in a happy place with interesting stories."
Shortly after his departure from This Morning, Schofield admitted through a social media statement that he had engaged in a relationship that was "not illegal" but "unwise". Although Schofield first met the younger man when he was 15, they had multiple "consensual moments" when he was around 20 years of age.
In an interview with The Sun, Schofield refuted claims that he "groomed" the unnamed ITV employee, who got his job at the broadcaster after asking Schofield through Twitter if he could get him work experience. "I did not, I did not (groom him)," Schofield claimed, before adding that he was aware of the allegations social media users were making about the "unwise" relationship.
Schofield claimed that the sexual relationship with the younger man began in 2017, with a "consensual moment" in his dressing room. He also said that, although he met the employee when he was underage, they only engaged in sexual activity when he was in his early twenties, and had only exchanged "work-related" messages and "career advice" when he was 18.
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