The crisis engulfing This Morning deepened tonight with claims the show was ‘toxic’ behind the scenes.
The fallout from Phillip Schofield’s affair with a much younger colleague widened as the host’s former lover claimed he had not been quizzed about it by ITV, despite the company insisting an investigation involving both men took place.
Calls for an independent inquiry into the scandal gathered pace, with ITV’s most senior bosses under increasing pressure to admit what they knew and when about Schofield’s relationship.
And tonight Dr Ranj Singh, who was a regular guest on This Morning, accused the show of having a ‘toxic’ culture of bullying and discrimination.
The TV doctor said he had taken his concerns to ‘the top’ of ITV but felt he had been ‘managed out’ as he was dropped from screens, raising yet more questions for executives. He had worked on the show for ten years and had even previously co-hosted it. He left in 2021.
Calls for an independent inquiry into the scandal gathered pace, with ITV’s most senior bosses under increasing pressure to admit what they knew and when about Phillip Schofield’s (pictured last week) relationship
‘A lot of questions’ are going to surround This Morning star Holly Willoughby after Phillip Schofield’s affair bombshell
Pixilated photo of Schofield leaving The Ivy Club with his much younger ex-lover back in 2017
A weekend of revelations, sparked by Schofield making an apology to the Daily Mail on Friday for lying about the affair, added to pressure on the channel’s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall and her director of television, Kevin Lygo, to address the growing controversy.
It can also be revealed that the ex-lover has vowed to not lie about the relationship, which Schofield described as ‘unwise but not illegal’ but has left his 38-year TV career in tatters.
Sources told the Mail the former production assistant insists that ‘he was never asked’ about the romance, while another ITV insider said: ‘Everybody just knew about it.’
One source said: ‘It’s time for some truths to be told now, this has been brushed under the carpet for so long and it has to come to an end. The younger man has got to the point now where he won’t lie for anyone but actually, he says he was never asked by ITV about any relationship.
‘It is time that people were held to account, or at the very least explain themselves.’
An ITV spokesman tonight stood firm, saying: ‘Both parties were questioned.’
But the network refused to say when the questioning took place, or who conducted it.
Yesterday Mr Lygo told Sky News ‘no mistakes’ were made as his channel sought out the truth.
The assistant was shunted from This Morning to another ITV programme in 2020 after he admitted his love for Schofield at an awards ceremony – prompting much gossip among employees of all levels that there was a relationship between them.
Dr Ranj said he had taken his concerns to ‘the top’ of ITV but that he felt he had been ‘managed out’
Following his last show on May 18, Hammond and O’Leary paid a 30-second tribute to Phil when they hosted the programme the following day, after his 21 years on the show
In a lengthy Instagram post, Dr Ranj Singh said he had ‘thought long and hard’ before weighing in on the ongoing scandal
The television medic confirmed that he had taken concerns about the behaviour of editors and senior producers to ITV and had then seen his screentime drop
Insiders say that the move between programmes would have almost certainly been overseen by ITV’s head of daytime, Emma Gormley. She has yet to comment.
Richard Scorer, of lawyers Slater and Gordon, said that while all the details of the relationship were not yet known, ‘any situation where a young person may have been subjected to a potential imbalance of abuse of power needs to be investigated fully and independently’.
The abuse specialist added that the long-standing rumours about the affair – and the allegations that others in ITV were aware of the relationship – meant it was ‘imperative that there is a full and transparent investigation’.
Ex-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries joined the calls for an independent investigation.
She told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: ‘We know that there were complaints lodged with ITV over a long period of time. What happened to those complaints? I think the editor of the programme, Martin Frizell, has some questions to answer himself.
‘How did that young boy, so young, get a job at ITV? What were the processes involved? What was the safeguarding in place for someone so young at that age? What contact was first made? Who contacted who?’
This Morning will return today, with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary presenting, ITV confirmed tonight.
But despite claims that all is well at the station’s ‘jewel in the crown’, and will carry on as normal, the Mail understands that some people who have been approached to be guests on the show are refusing.
Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby with Dr Ranj on This Morning in 2019. The TV doctor said he felt he had to speak up
Unimpressed: Alison Hammond, 48, and Dermot O’Leary, 50, are reportedly fuming after paying tribute to Phillip Schofield following his departure from This Morning
The show’s Twitter profile was updated on Saturday to remove a picture with Phillip Schofield in it
Dr Singh, 43, made his comments about the ‘toxic’ culture behind the scenes in a lengthy Instagram post yesterday.
A Sunday newspaper report told how he complained of bullying before his departure, with an ITV spokesman admitting an investigation was launched, but found ‘no evidence’. Dr Singh confirmed that he had taken concerns about the behaviour of editors and senior producers to ITV ‘especially given that my job is to look after people’s wellbeing and I had been heavily involved in diversity, anti-bullying and mental health projects across the channel’.
He added: ‘The culture at This Morning has become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out.’
ITV said: ‘We are sorry to read Dr Ranj’s post today. At ITV we are fully committed to providing every opportunity for anyone who works with us to raise any concern or comments they may have. Following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, we appointed an external and independent adviser to carry out a review. This external review found no evidence of bullying or discrimination.’
Yesterday The Mail on Sunday told how Schofield was in his late 40s when he first met his lover as he gave a talk to a North-West theatre school. At the time the younger man was 15 and he asked the TV veteran if he would help him land a job in showbusiness.
Ex-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries joined the calls for an independent investigation.
Schofield was in his late 40s when he first met his lover as he gave a talk to a North-West theatre school
At the age of 18, the teen moved to London and worked on This Morning, at which point they struck up an ‘on-off’ relationship.
Schofield has funded lawyers from the London firm Mischon de Reya on behalf of his former lover. The solicitors were instructed last Monday and it was at that point that the man refused to continue covering up their liaisons.
On Saturday a devastated Ms Willoughby, 42, who is taking a break from the show, issued a statement saying: ‘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.’
An ITV Spokesperson said: ‘We are sorry to read Dr Ranj’s post today. At ITV we are fully committed to providing every opportunity for anyone who works with us to raise any concern or comments they may have.
‘Following a complaint made by Dr Ranj, we appointed an external and independent advisor to carry out a review. This external review found no evidence of bullying or discrimination.’
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