ITV bosses reportedly ‘don’t want’ Phillip Schofield back: ‘The place is much nicer without him’
Schofield left This Morning in May 2023 after news of an affair with a colleague was revealed. (Getty)
Senior members of staff at ITV apparently “don’t want” Phillip Schofield to come back to This Morning, according to the Daily Mail.
After Schofield was pictured with I’m A Celebrity presenter Declan Donnelly earlier this month, rumours spread that the former presenter might be making a return to ITV, the tabloid wrote.
However, even if Phillip Schofield wants to come back, ITV doesn’t seem to be on board. One senior staffer allegedly told The Daily Mail: “We don’t want him, why would we want him back? The place is much nicer without him.”
Schofield left This Morning in May 2023 after 20 years hosting the show, following the admission that Schofield had been lying about an affair with a younger colleague who also worked on the show.
The presenter, who is gay and came out on Instagram in February 2020, admitted that he covered up the relationship with the man in question. The affair occurred while he was married to his former partner Stephanie Lowe, with Schofield describing the affair as “unwise but not illegal”.
Schofield confirmed that he met the man “when he was a teenager and was asked to help him get into television”. After he began to work on This Morning, “it became more than a friendship”.
Schofield’s lawyers told the Evening Standard that the man was 15 when they first met but emphasised the fact that the relationship did not begin until many years later, after the man turned 20.
In an interview with the BBC in June 2023, Schofield rejected accusations that he was a “groomer” and said that the scandal had a “catastrophic effect” on him.
At the time, an ITV spokesperson said they were “deeply disappointed” by the news and that the network felt “badly let down”.
According to the Mail, Phillip Schofield reportedly might be taking legal action against ITV and sees himself as a “victim” after the events of last year.
A source told the newspaper: “Phillip firmly believes that he has been mistreated by ITV. He thinks he was thrown under the bus. From some of what he says, he feels he is the victim.”
They added that Schofield “thinks he was the fall guy” and “can’t work out why he was the one who had to go from This Morning last May”.
