The Phillip Schofield scandal explained, from daytime TV to Parliament

It’s not every day that the British Parliament talks about daytime television.

But the firing of presenter Phillip Schofield after admitting to a relationship with a much younger man who worked for the same show dominated British coverage for weeks, fueling headlines but also raising questions about ethics at work.

On Wednesday, executives at ITV, Britain’s largest ad-supported network, urged a parliamentary committee that they had done everything they could to investigate persistent rumors about a star who repeatedly denied inappropriate behaviour.

“No one here, or on the board, would ever turn a blind eye to something as serious as this,” Carolyn McCall, the network’s chief executive, told the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

Research among other employees turned up no evidence, she said, adding: “With evidence, we could have launched a formal investigation because the imbalance of power, the imbalance of dynamics in that relationship makes it very inappropriate.”

Here’s a guide to the furore surrounding Mr. Schofield, and why it’s attracted so much attention.

Who is Phillip Schofield?

Until recently one of Britain’s most prominent television personalities. Along with his co-anchor Holly Willoughby, he formed one half of a fun-loving duo who were a regular feature on ITV’s morning discussion show ‘This Morning’.

Mr Schofield, 61, has been on the country’s screens for most of his adult life. Raised in Cornwall, in the South West of England, he worked briefly in New Zealand before becoming one of the main faces of the BBC’s children’s programming in the 1980s and early 1990s. a puppet named Gordon the Gopher.

Since 2002, he has hosted ‘This Morning’, which combines current affairs and cooking with lifestyle stories and celebrity interviews. , joined him on “This Morning” in 2009.

When did it get complicated?

In 2020, Mr. Schofield, who was married for 27 years and has two daughters, surprised his viewers by saying he is gay. In an emotional interview with Ms Willoughby, he praised his wife (to whom he remains legally married) and said that publicly acknowledging his sexuality was something he knew he ‘had to do’.

Then, last year, Mr Schofield and Mrs Willoughby caught the public eye when they were photographed with Queen Elizabeth II lying in state. They said they were reporting a segment for their show. The British tabloids said they had simply skipped the mile-long line to view the coffin, an incendiary accusation once “The Queue” had become a symbol of national mourning.

More recently, the old chemistry between the two co-anchors seemed to be evaporating, and British tabloids suggested that there were tensions between the pair off-screen.

Why did he stop?

Mr Schofield resigned on 20 May after claims of tension with Mrs Willoughby peaked (and ratings dropped). But shortly after that announcement, Mr Schofield admitted in a statement to The Daily Mail that he had concealed a relationship with a much younger man who also worked on ‘This Morning’. Mr Schofield described his “consensual on-off relationship” as “ill-advised, but not illegal”, and said he had lied about it to ITV, his colleagues – including Ms Willoughby – friends and his agent.

Mr Schofield has said he first met the younger man when the man was a teenager – a 15-year-old drama student – after giving a lecture at his theater school. He said they kept in touch via Twitter, and that the younger man, whose name has not been named by British media, went on to gain work experience at “This Morning” before landing a junior job there. In an emotional interview with the BBC, Mr Schofield said the relationship only turned sexual when his former lover was around 20.

Challenged by the BBC, Mr. Schofield to nurse the younger man, insisting the friendship was completely innocent at first. He said he understood the affair could be seen as an abuse of power, but “it didn’t feel that way at the time”.

Lawmakers wanted to know if ITV was doing enough to investigate internal rumors of an affair between a powerful anchor and a junior staff member (who has since left). The broadcaster said that both men had misled it. On Wednesday, the network’s general counsel, Kyla Mullins, said the younger colleague denied having a relationship with Mr Schofield on a whopping 12 occasions.

But some critics say the men’s statements were accepted too easily. So ITV’s managers are facing questions about their staff security system, as well as separate allegations that there was a “toxic” atmosphere on “This Morning” – claims executives also denied on Wednesday.

What are his supporters saying?

Some supporters of Mr. Schofield argue that the criticism of him has a homophobic tinge. Despite recent revelations among the #MeToo movement, they question whether the public reaction would have been as strong if his lover had been a woman, or if this had been a relationship between an older woman and a younger man. While apologetic – especially to his former lover – Mr Schofield argued: “If it were husband and wife then it wouldn’t be such a scandal.”

What happens to Mr. Schofield now?

In his BBC interview, Mr. Schofield said he had suicidal thoughts and that only the support of his two daughters had gotten him through recent events. But he held out little hope for a TV comeback.

“I have to talk about television in the past tense, it breaks my heart,” he said. “I’ve lost everything.”

“What am I going to do with my days?” he continued. “I see nothing before me but darkness, sadness, regret, remorse and guilt.”

And what about ‘This Morning’?

The show went on. After a break, Ms. Willoughby returned to “This Morning” on June 5, beginning with a speech that seemed to assume her audience would be as shocked by the crisis surrounding the show as those who worked on it.

“Okay, take a deep breath,” she said, before asking her viewers, “First off, are you okay? I hope so.”