Eamonn and Ruth ‘embarrassed and ashamed’ to be part of Phillip’s coming out

In 2020, Phillip Schofield sat down with Holly Willoughby on This Morning and told viewers he is gay.

He was supported by hosts Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes, who claim they did not find out about the interview until the day it took place.

Eamonn told GB News host Dan Wootton he and wife Ruth Langsford feel “embarrassed and ashamed” when they look back at the show following Phillip’s admission he had an on-off affair with a male colleague at This Morning.

Eamonn claimed he and Ruth were “taken for fools,” as he told Dan: “We began to feel this is not our show at all.”

Eamonn added: “Ruth and I, to this day, are embarrassed and ashamed when we see those pictures, when we see the toils that some people who are tortured by their sexuality have to go through.”

He asserted he and Ruth “feel angry and used”.

Eamonn admitted he had hoped Phillip’s announcement that day would be that he was leaving This Morning. 

He told Dan: “I thought ‘Oh good, hopefully he’s going.’ He comes into our dressing room and he falls down on his knees crying. I said ‘What’s the matter?’ and he says ‘I’m gay’. I walked over and said ‘Is that all?’

“I thought he’d killed a child or something. I said, ‘Oh so what so you’re gay?'”

Eamonn continued: “We were very supportive, Ruth hugged him and said ‘We’ll stand by you.’ It wouldn’t enter our minds the man would be discriminated against for being gay.”

Phillip confirmed on Friday he had an affair with a male colleague while working on This Morning.

He said in a statement: “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.

“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.

“That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.”

An ITV spokesperson confirmed to Express.co.uk that there was an investigation into claims of a relationship between Phillip and an employee.

They said: “Further to our statement last night, ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.

“Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then agency YMU.

“In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.

“Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship.”

Dan Wootton Tonight airs Monday – Thursday on GB News at 9pm.