Phillip Schofield had a terrible year in 2023. On 20 May, he stepped down from his iconic role alongside Holly Willoughby as a presenter of This Morning. He later confessed that he’d been having an affair with a man that he met when the young hopeful was 15 and looking for a career in television. It was only after he started working for ITV at the age of 18 that his and Schofield’s relationship developed past the point of friendship, but the news of the affair caused a massive scandal.
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Lorraine Kelly has now given an update about Schofield, who has faced enormous levels of judgement for the affair that he dubbed ‘unwise but not illegal’. Schofield’s mother was even dragged into the story as she was allegedly spied on while the press were looking for more information about the shamed presenter. Here’s everything Lorraine said.
Phillip is ‘doing alright’
Lorraine spoke about Schofield, who has not yet divorced from his wife Stephanie Lowe, in a new interview with The Sunday Times. Lorraine, who has worked as a broadcaster since 1984 and has had her own show since 2010, reflected on the times she spent with Schofield.
She said that ‘everybody lost their minds a wee bit’ over the scandal, and defended Schofield. The presenter, who occasionally worked alongside Schofield on This Morning, went on to say that Schofield was a ‘delight’ to work with. She described him as ‘generous’:
Not all men are, particularly male presenters, but he was. I was heartbroken when all that happened. It’s just a shame for the amazing career that he’s had, for it to end like that.
Unlike with Holly Willoughby, Schofield still has obviously had a friend in Lorraine. She says she has kept in touch with him and that he is doing alright with the aftermath of the affair, despite the fact that it is ‘hard’.
ITV: a toxic workplace?
The scandal coincided with allegations against ITV, as claims came out that the channel harboured a ‘toxic’ work environment. While Phillip stepped down from This Morning, and Holly moved on amid terrifying threats, ITV and This Morning have continued to deny that there are any problems in their workplace.
Lorraine also commented on these allegations, saying that she has never witnessed bullying or toxicity going on at work:
Maybe it is like that, but I don’t recognise it.
She explained that the different shows function independently and are therefore ‘very isolated’. Although there are now reports that the friendship between Willoughby - who reportedly didn’t know about the affair - and Schofield is ‘deeply buised’, the duo used to get on like a house on fire. Lorraine reminded us of this, saying:
They’re good people. I miss them. They’re smashing, they made me laugh a lot and every time I was on This Morning as a guest, they were a delight.
Read more:
⋙ Phillip Schofield: This is what the former This Morning host may be planning since affair scandal
⋙ Phillip Schofield: Does he still have support among ITV amid ongoing internal investigation?
Sources used:
Independent: Lorraine Kelly says ‘everybody lost their minds a wee bit’ over the Phillip Schofield scandal
Metro: Lorraine Kelly gives update on Phillip Schofield after revealing thoughts over This Morning exit
