Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby are removed from This Morning’s social media

This Morning has wiped Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby posing with Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary from its Twitter banner.

The show previously had a banner image on top of their Twitter page featuring Schofield and Willoughby as well as the Friday presenters.

But now, it displays a generic background image matching the This Morning profile picture in turquoise and gold. 

None of its presenters are featured on the current banner, adding to mounting speculation over who will present This Morning going forward. 

This banner change comes following Schofield’s departure from ITV and after he admitted to lying about having an ‘unwise’ affair with a younger male colleague.

TODAY: But now, the page displays a generic background image matching the This Morning profile picture in turquoise and gold

Yesterday, former This Morning star Dr Ranj slammed the ‘toxic’ culture at the ITV daytime show.

The TV doctor, who left the show last year, claimed he was ‘managed out’ after taking his concerns to ‘the top’ of ITV, raising even more questions for bosses about whether they knew and when.

Dr Ranj – who is now the resident doctor on the BBC’s Morning Live – said he thought ‘long and hard’ before weighing in on the scandal currently engulfing ITV but decided to speak out ‘in light of recent events’.

But the channel have denied his bombshell accusations amid calls intensify for a independent probe into an ITV investigation by top brass in 2020 into Phillip Schofield’s affair with his secret lover.

ITV confirmed that they had investigated rumours of the relationship, which first began to circulate in 2020, but that Schofield and the young man had ‘repeatedly denied’ the affair. But calls for a probe into ITV’s investigation of the relationship are still continuing to grow. 

On Saturday, broadcaster Dan Wooton revealed that he told ITV about Phillip Schofield’s affair with his young colleague in 2019 and urged them to investigate but they dismissed it as ‘malicious gossip’.

In his exclusive Mail article Wooton also revealed ITV staff submitted complaints about Schofield’s behaviour.

The banner change comes following Schofield’s departure from ITV and after he admitted to having an ‘unwise’ affair with a younger male colleague (pictured: Phillip Schofield with fellow younger colleague who became his lover leaving The Ivy Club, London, in 2017)

Yesterday, former This Morning star Dr Ranj slammed the ‘toxic’ culture at the ITV daytime show (pictured: Dr Ranj speaking with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby in 2019)

ITV confirmed that they had investigated rumours of the relationship, which first began to circulate in 2020, but that Schofield and the young man had ‘repeatedly denied’ the affair. But calls for a probe into ITV’s investigation of the relationship are still continuing to grow 

The former culture secretary also accused Schofield of ‘bullying’ co-workers as well as abusing ‘authority, power and trust’ after he confessed to having an affair with the younger colleague and covering it up with lies.

The 61-year-old presenter quit ITV on Friday after admitting to the Mail that he lied about an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a much younger man. 

He also apologised to his wife of almost 30 years Stephanie Lowe who stood by him after he came out as gay in 2020.

Ms Dorries said Schofield’s co-host of 13 years Willoughby ‘has questions to answer’.

Yesterday Nadine Dorries piled pressure on Willoughby and called for a probe into complaints made to ITV. The former culture secretary also accused Schofield of ‘bullying’ co-workers as well as abusing ‘authority, power and trust’ after he confessed to having an affair with the younger colleague and covering it up with lies 

Kevin Lygo (pictured), director of television at ITV, denied yesterday that mistakes were made during the network’s investigation

Kevin Lygo, director of television at ITV, denied yesterday that mistakes were made during the network’s investigation. 

He simply responded ‘No’ when asked whether mistakes had been made as he was confronted by Sky News over which bosses knew what at ITV.

The scandal over the affair follows a turbulent few months for Schofield, who for decades was ITV’s king of daytime television. 

But nine days ago he sensationally quit This Morning after 21 years after falling out with Ms Willoughby, 42. His departure came just a day after his younger brother Timothy was jailed for 12 years for 11 convictions of sexual offences involving a child.

Schofield was forced to confirm allegations of an affair were true because his former lover – who had also worked on This Morning – had unexpectedly confessed all to his lawyers. 

The presenter had hired top law firm Mishcon de Reya to represent the young man, now in his mid 20s, presumably believing that he would keep quiet.

But his former lover told lawyers that although he feared exposure, he was fed up lying about the relationship.

Although ITV investigated Schofield’s affair in 2020, a senior lawyer has said there should be a ‘probe’ into the affair over a possible ‘abuse of power’.