Phillip Schofield’s former lover reportedly confessed his feelings for the ex-This Morning host at an awards ceremony, “stunning” his ITV colleagues in return.
It’s been reported by the Daily Mail that the 61-year-old regularly invited his “young lover to glitzy functions, often raising [the] eyebrows” of broadcasting staff.
It’s said that at one of these events, “Schofield’s friend stunned his ITV colleagues by, as one put it, ‘declaring his love for Phil in no uncertain terms’.”
The alleged revelation comes after Phillip released a statement on Friday confirming he had an affair with a younger male colleague while they were both working at This Morning.
He said that while employed with ITV, he embarked on “a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague”.
Read more: Phillip Schofield’s young lover ‘was just 15 when they first met’
Furthermore, he stated that he met the unnamed man “when he was a teenager and was asked to help him 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,” he added. “It is over now.”
The admittance is said to have come after the unnamed man “became fed up of lying” about the pair’s relationship and allegedly told his lawyers about the affair.
Following the statement, Phillip’s former co-host, Holly Willoughby, 42, took to her Instagram stories to tell her 8.3 million followers that she was “very hurt” by the reveal.
She wrote: “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 find out that this was a lie.”
Phillip officially stepped down from presenting duties last weekend following rumours that there was “tension” between himself and Holly.
Despite the swift exit, a source close to the daytime show has told the Mirror that they believe This Morning’s reputation has been “tarnished beyond repair”.
They reportedly said: “The reality is things have gone too far. The show and the brand are tarnished beyond repair – no one is going to want to appear on it, and Carolyn [McCall] is looking to axe it.”
Despite a weekend of headlines and rumours, ITV has confirmed that there are no plans to take This Morning off-air.
An ITV spokesperson said: “As we said on the record yesterday, This Morning is not under review and there’s no plans for the show to be axed.
“This Morning will return as normal tomorrow.”
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