Phillip Schofield has shared what he thinks he did wrong in a tell all interview.
The 61-year-old broadcaster sat down with Amol Rajan to, he said, clarify what really went on in the scandal that has led to his TV downfall. Mr Schofield quit ITV last week after he admitted having an affair with a younger male colleague.
In the interview released today he clarified Mr Schofield was first introduced to the younger man in question when he was aged 15. The former This Morning host said: "I was invited by a friend of mine to go to a school, which is something I've done thousands of times.
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"Whether it was immediately or sometime after [his friend] said would you follow him on Twitter because he's a fan." Mr Schofield agreed and insisted they hardly ever messaged and the conversation strictly centred on career advice.
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 explained the relationship was never flirtatious and only turned sexual when the man was aged "20/21". The BBC broadcaster grilled Mr Schofield on accusations that he groomed the younger male colleague.
He asked: "You met someone who was a child, you were in a position of power over them, you used your power eventually to give something they crave, which is a shot at a job of media. You nurtured a relationship and that relationship became sexual. They might ask, what's the difference between that and grooming?"
Mr Schofield denied the accusation as he said: "Well I would say that your initial list of things was not right anyway. It was a totally innocent picture, a totally innocent Twitter follow, of which I follow 11,400 people and then it was a completely innocent backwards and forwards over a period of time about a job, about careers.
"What's wrong with that? What's wrong with talking to someone no matter what age they are? Does that mean if you are following someone on Twitter, that you don't talk to anyone else or that you don't give advice. I disagree with the summation that you gave because that does paint give a very grave picture."
In Mr Schofield's statement confirming his departure from ITV, he explained the relationship was "unwise but not illegal". The interviewer quizzed Mr Schofield on what he thinks he did wrong.
The former ITV host responded: "What was unwise was the fact that it happened and that was a very, very grave error. It was consensual [but] it was my fault because I shouldn't have done it.
"He is an innocent party. I appreciate how there is a moment but he is entirely and completely innocent. Although it was entirely consensual, I was older and should have known better.
"I kissed someone in a workplace, which led on to a little bit more and that, retrospectively, of course, my friends have said what the hell are you thinking. You don't do that. You've never done that. There's no excuses here, but I think the fact that perhaps I was trying to come to terms with who I was, what I was going to do about it, the effects it would have, I think that's probably the reason."
Mr Schofield also shut down accusations that what happened was an abuse of power. He said: "Obviously that criticism has been levelled at me but I've never done that in my whole life. I've never abused my power anywhere. I don't lord it around TV studios, everyone is a friend, the messages I've got are from people work with saying 'oh my God, I can't believe they're saying this, we love working with you'. Around the time I was coming out, I snapped at one of our producers and, after the meeting, I immediately got up and apologised.
"It's not me, I don't do that. I'm not rude on the studio floor, I don't bully people, I don't lord it around. That's been the important thing for me in 41 years of television."
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