The former This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield has hit out at his critics after backlash to his announcement that he had an affair with a "much" younger man.
As reported by Sky News, the 61-year-old former ITV presenter has stepped down from his role following the announcement. The man whom Schofield had an affair with was an ITV employee.
Schofield has since been the subject of intense scrutiny, and he has hit back at his critics via his Instagram story.
He wrote: "Now I no longer work on @thismorning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it's the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice. This morning IS the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity."
Schofield continued: "You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like. But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know, it IS a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard working people."
As reported by Sky News, the 61-year-old stepped down from his roles with ITV this month after admitting the affair, which happened while he was still married to his wife of 27 years, Stephanie Lowe.
In a statement shared with the Daily Mail, Schofield said he was "deeply sorry" for lying about the relationship to ITV, his colleagues, loved ones, and agents.
"I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning," Schofield said. "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."
Schofield then admitted that - although the relationship was not illegal - it was "unwise" and it is now over.
The presenter shared the screen for many years with Holly Willoughby, who has since declared that Schofield "lied" to her after she "asked Phil directly" about his affair.
“When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not,” she wrote, adding: “It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie.”
Eamonn Holmes, a UK TV personality took to Twitter to launch a scathing attack on Schofield, writing: "Schofield has finally been caught out ... But he's not the only guilty party. 4 high members of Itv management knew what sort of man he was ...and NEVER once took action to prevent him controlling or taking advantage of his position over young people."
Schofield also parted ways with his former agents, YMU Group, on Thursday (May 25) over the revelation, with Mary Bekhait, CEO of YMU Group, stressing that "honesty and integrity" were key factors in their business in the wake of the revelations.
After Schofield shared his "important new information", the company deemed that it "contradicted" what the Dancing On Ice presenter had previously told them, and "as a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect."
In February 2020, Schofield took to Instagram to announce that he was gay - something he was able to "come to terms with" thanks to the support from his daughters and wife, Lowe, who he separated from shortly after.
