Following his brother’s conviction in a sexual assault trial, Holly Willoughby and the This Morning crew have said that they ‘will always be there’ for Phillip Schofield.
Timothy Schofield was convicted guilty of sexually abusing an adolescent boy over a three-year span on Monday at Exeter Crown Court.
Between October 2016 and October 2019, Schofield was accused with 11 sexual offences involving children, including two counts of sexual conduct with a minor.
While giving evidence, the 54-year-old civilian police officer from Bath told the jurors that he had viewed pornography with the boy, who he maintained was over the age of 16 at the time, and that they had masturbated while seated apart, but he denied conducting sexual acts on the adolescent.
In September 2021, he is said to have informed his TV celebrity sibling about some of the alleged wrongdoing.
Following the guilty decision, Phil released a statement in which he stated that he ‘no longer’ has a brother.
He wrote on his Instagram stories: ‘My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family.
‘I hope that their privacy will now be respected.
‘If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my sibling, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.
‘These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts.’
He concluded: ‘As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.’
Phil, who is on maternity leave from This Morning as the Easter vacations commence, has received overwhelming support from his ITV family.
A source told Mail Online: ‘Phillip is a much loved member of our team and we wanted to make sure we supported him.’
‘We are so happy he will be back where he belongs.’
Phil will return to the daily show after the Easter vacations, in about two weeks, according to an ITV insider.
Meanwhile, his co-host Holly has been seated with Alison Hammond and Joel Dommett.
A source added to the publication: ‘Holly is loyal to Phil and she will always be there for him.’
‘And she will always be there for This Morning too. She sees it as her role to keep things going.’
After more than five and a half hours of deliberation, the jurors at Exeter Crown Court declared Schofield guilty on all charges by a vote of 10-2.
He disputed the accusations, but was found guilty on three counts of causing a child to witness sexual activity, three counts of participating in sexual activity in the presence of a child, three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and two counts of sexual activity with a child.
After the verdict, an NSPCC spokesperson said: ‘Child sexual abuse can have devastating and long-lasting impact on a person’s life and Timothy Schofield’s actions were deeply harmful.
‘We hope that the young man he targeted is receiving all the support he needs to move forward with his life.
‘It is so important that those who have experienced abuse are empowered to speak out, and that members of the public feel equally empowered to talk to someone if they are worried about a young person, no matter who they are or when it happened.
‘Adults who are concerned about a child can speak to a trained child protection specialist at the NSPCC Helpline at help@nspcc.org.uk, while Childline is there for young people on 0800 1111 or www.childline.org.uk.
‘We would also encourage everyone and anyone to take the NSPCC’s free 10 minute training, ‘Listen Up, Speak Up’ available on our website, to know what to do if a child needs help, and where to go if you need support yourself. That little bit of knowledge can help keep a lot of children safe’.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1.
