Schofield's lover was just 15 when they met: Schoolboy asked Phillip for a job ... trends now
Phillip Schofield’s lover was just 15 when they met at a talk the veteran TV presenter was giving at a theatre school, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
At the time, the schoolboy asked him for a job, and Schofield later arranged an interview for him. It led to a position as an ITV production assistant when he turned 18. Some time afterwards, their affair began.
Last night, as Schofield’s 38-year career in television lay in ruins, his This Morning co- presenter Holly Willoughby told of her devastation when she discovered he had lied to her about the relationship.
She revealed: ‘When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.’
Today, this newspaper can reveal the real reason behind Schofield’s extraordinary statement on Friday in which he finally came clean about the relationship and apologised to the Mail for lying.
Phillip Schofield’s lover was just 15 when they met at a talk the veteran TV presenter was giving at a theatre school. Pictured: Phillip Schofield shares emotional walk with mum on May 21
At the time, the schoolboy asked him for a job, and Schofield later arranged an interview for him. It led to a position as an ITV production assistant when he turned 18. Some time afterwards, their affair began. Pictured: Phil with younger lover leaving The Ivy Club, London, in 2017
His This Morning co- presenter Holly Willoughby (right) told of her devastation when she discovered he had lied to her about the relationship.
Schofield admitted to cheating on his wife Stephanie Lowe (right) with a younger lover yesterday
The 61-year-old was forced to confirm allegations of an affair were true because his former lover – who had also worked on This Morning – had unexpectedly confessed all to his lawyers.
Schofield had hired top law firm Mishcon de Reya to represent the young man, now in his mid 20s, presumably believing that he would keep quiet.
But his former lover – who the MoS has chosen not to name – told lawyers that although he feared exposure, he was fed up lying about the relationship.
The Mail on Sunday, which first broke the scandal, can also reveal:
Ms Willougby has vowed to carry on hosting This Morning with another presenter, although it’s feared the show has been irreparably damaged and could be axed; She also spoke of how ‘it’s taken time to process’ the bombshell admission from her former friend; ITV bosses face pressure to explain in detail what they knew of the affair and when – despite insisting that when they investigated rumours of a relationship in 2020, both denied it; MailOnline’s Dan Wooton revealed that he told a senior ITV executive about the ‘inappropriate relationship’ in 2019 but the network dismissed it as ‘malicious gossip’; Schofield’s lover stunned ITV colleagues at a 2020 awards ceremony by ‘declaring his love for Phil’; Questions were raised over whether Schofield only came out as gay a month later because ITV bosses feared a kiss-and-tell newspaper story.Schofield met his future lover at the school in North West England when he was in his late 40s. Some years later the younger man became a production assistant on This Morning when Schofield was in his early 50s and their
