Phillip Schofield resigned from ITV in May 2023 after admitting an affair with a much younger male colleague, describing the relationship in his own words as unwise but not illegal and apologising for lying about it to his employer, colleagues, agents and family.
Schofield had been one of the most familiar faces on British television, presenting This Morning for more than 20 years alongside Holly Willoughby. He stepped down from the daytime show first, initially with plans to keep other ITV work, but days later resigned from the broadcaster entirely and was dropped by his talent agency, YMU.
In his statement, he said the relationship began after the younger man started work on the show, that it was consensual and that it was now over. He confirmed it had started while he was still married to his wife, Stephanie, from whom he had separated after coming out as gay in an emotional on-air interview in 2020.
ITV said it had investigated rumours of a relationship in early 2020 and had found no evidence beyond hearsay, because both men denied it at the time. After Schofield's admission, chief executive Carolyn McCall instructed a barrister, Jane Mulcahy KC, to carry out an external review of how the broadcaster had handled the matter. The review, published that December, found ITV had been unable to uncover relevant evidence of the affair during its earlier inquiries.
The fallout engulfed This Morning itself. Former resident doctor Ranj Singh described a toxic culture and said he had raised concerns years earlier; ITV said an independent review of that complaint found no evidence of bullying or discrimination. Schofield denied toxicity at the programme. Willoughby left the show months later, after 14 years on its sofa.
Schofield later gave a lengthy BBC interview in which he discussed the damage to his career and mental health and said he believed his presenting life was over. He eventually returned to television with a Channel 5 castaway series, a comeback that itself divided viewers.
The episode remains a landmark in British broadcasting: a reminder of how quickly a presenter's private conduct, once concealed and then admitted, can end a decades-long career and trigger lasting questions about how a major broadcaster safeguards younger staff.
The Schofield affair also changed the conversation about power in television workplaces. A relationship between a programme's biggest star and a junior colleague, even one described as consensual and legal, raised questions about consent, influence and whether junior staff can ever easily say no — questions the external review process forced ITV to confront in public. Broadcasters across the industry quietly tightened their own policies on workplace relationships and disclosure in the months that followed, making the case a reference point well beyond one presenter's fall.