Phillip Schofield admits affair with young male ITV employee while still married

Phillip Schofield has admitted to having an affair with a man while he was married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.

The 61-year-old, who stepped down from This Morning last week after more than 20 years, has now been dropped by his talent agency YMU after the news of his affair was exposed.

He has also stepped down from ITV and he won’t be hosting the British Soap Awards next week.

READ MORE: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield’s friendship reportedly soured ‘after March 8 show’

Phillip himself confirmed the affair in a statement on Friday evening (May 26) and admitted to lying to his wife about it but refused to name the employee.

In his initial statement, Phil revealed that he’d parted ways with his YMU agency, saying: “It is with the most profound regret that after 35 years of being faultlessly managed by YMU I have agreed to step down from their representation with immediate effect.”

A statement from his agency revealed that they had separated from Phil with “immediate effect.”

Mary Bekhait, the Group CEO of YMU Group, wrote: “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.”

In a later statement, Phil confessed that he had the affair with a younger ITV employee, describing it as something “unwise but not illegal”.

He also confessed to lying about the “on-off” relationship to ITV, his colleagues and friends at his agency YMU.

The TV star told Daily Mail: “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.

“Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship.

“That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over. ‘When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody “forced” me out.”

Phil continued: “Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me.

“In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship. But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.

“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.

He added: “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.

“To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so.

He concluded the statement by saying: “I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.”

ITV have since released their own statement, insisting they were “deeply disappointed” by Phillip’s “deceit”.

An ITV spokesperson told Daily Star: “We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield.

“The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Philip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.

“We accept his resignation from ITV and therefore can confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as had previously been stated.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk