Get the best celeb gossip with the Daily Star Showbiz newsletter
Get the best celeb gossip with the Daily Star Showbiz newsletter
We have more newsletters
An external investigation has revealed ITV made "considerable efforts" to uncover the truth behind Phillip Schofield's affair with an colleague on This Morning back in 2019.
It reports that despite their best efforts, executives were "unable to uncover the relevant evidence" until Schofield's confession in late May 2023. It is understood Phillip Schofield "reluctantly declined" to take part in an external review into the circumstances behind his departure from the flagship company.
The investigation claims the disgraced TV presenter refused to take part because of "the risk to his health". Jane Mulcahy KC, who is part of the external investigation team, added that she has been informed that the 61-year-old's mental health has deetiolated since he left the daytime the show.
The broadcaster hired lawyer Mulcahy KC to conduct a review earlier this year after the dad-of-two admitted to an "unwise but not illegal" affair with the younger staffer. The fall out of the scandal saw the TV star step down from TV show after hosting the show for more than 20 years.
His long-time co-star Holly Willoughby found herself wrapped up in the highly publicised scandal and also stepped down a few months later after she became the victim of a kidnap and murder plot. The high-profile lawyer was tasked with examining how much ITV knew about Schofield's workplace relationship with the unnamed personal assistant.
She was also tasked with looking into the way in which ITV handled complaints about This Morning overall. After Schofield's affair was exposed, several former stars and employees spoke out about the "toxic" environment on the show.
General Counsel and Company Secretary at ITV, Kyla Mullins said following the announcement: "There was a lot of unfair, inaccurate and damaging speculation about This Morning's culture.
"The plc Board met with KC this week and she told us: 'There is no finding of a 'toxic' culture, and had there been one, I would have said so."
In the report, the lawyer revealed that she interviewed 48 people for the report and only one person knew of the affair before the Schofield's admission in May. They were told two years prior.
The report reads: "Only one person to whom I spoke had any knowledge of an affair between PS (Phillip Schofield) and PX (unnamed employee) prior to May 2023 (they became aware in 2021) and that former junior employee did not report their knowledge at the time. Nor did others report suspicions from much earlier in 2017."
The investigation started in June and was initially set to take 12 weeks to complete, but in September it was revealed that the findings would be delayed.
This is a breaking showbiz story and is being constantly updated. Please refresh the page regularly for the latest news, pictures and video.
You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest celeb stories straight to your inbox by signing up for our showbiz newsletter .
Get all the very best headlines, pictures, opinion and video on the day’s top showbiz stories by following Daily Star every time you see our name.
- Follow Daily Star on Google News –CLICK HEREand click the star
- Follow Daily Star on Apple News –CLICK HEREavailable on Apple devices
- Follow Daily Star on Flipboard –CLICK HEREand click follow
You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news by following @starbreaksnews and follow us @dailystar for all the latest updates.
Keep up-to-date with your must-see showbiz stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/DailyStarShowbiz
- Breaking News
- Phillip Schofield
- ITV
Source: Read Full Article