The findings of ITV’s investigation into Phillip Schofield’s actions on This Morning have been made public.
Schofield, 61, acknowledged earlier this year to having a ‘unwise but not criminal’ romance with a younger male employee.
Schofield resigned from his ITV projects, including Dancing On Ice, after accusations that he was ‘barely speaking’ to co-host Holly Willoughby, 42.
His departure also spurred further charges that the show was developing a poisonous bullying culture, with people including Dr Ranj Singh and Eamonn Holmes speaking out.
Following his departure from the broadcaster, an external investigation into the facts was initiated in May, according to Dame Carolyn McCall’s letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, DCMS Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage, and Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes.
In the letter, she wrote that ITV takes the matter ‘extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records … [which] show that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in late 2019/early 2020 ITV investigated.’
The assessment has now been released, and it states that ITV made ‘significant attempts’ to learn the truth regarding an alleged relationship between Schofield and a runner on This Morning in 2019, but was ‘unable to unearth the necessary information’ until Schofield’s admission in late May 2023.
Schofield’reluctantly rejected’ to participate in an external examination of the circumstances surrounding his resignation from ITV due to ‘the danger to his health,’ according to the report.
Jane Mulcahy KC went on to say that Schofield’s mental health has subsequently deteriorated, and she addressed accusations of a ‘toxic’ environment at This Morning.
She stated that just one individual she spoke with was aware of Schofield’s affair with the anonymous runner, and that the employee did not report their knowledge to anybody at the time it occurred.
According to the assessment, managers should make sure their employees know “there is a safe space to complain or raise concerns” without fear of losing their job.
According to reports, ITV accepted the suggestions, while Mulcahy declared that there was ‘no finding of a poisonous culture’ at This Morning.
Following his affair disclosure, Schofield later gave tell-all interviews in which he stated he felt suicidal in the aftermath of his deception.
‘I am in a very bad way,’ he said. ‘Mentally, utterly, utterly broken.’
The host also voiced his heartbreak at the prospect of never working on television again, which he referred to as his “safe space.”
