Phillip Schofield breaks silence on claims he could ‘rebuild career through TalkTV’

Phillip Schofield has broken his silence over claims he could make a comeback on TalkTV following his exit from This Morning.

The presenter, 61, left the show after admitting to an affair with a younger man which he branded ‘ill-advised but not illegal’.

However Andy Barr, CEO of 10 Yetis Digital, claimed Phillip could return to the profession in the future, and on Saturday the TV expert told the Daily Star: ‘TalkTV could be the career rebuilding platform that Schofield needs right now.

‘If the current media spotlight reveals no new allegations then this is entirely recoverable for him and TalkTV could be the perfect place for him to start again in a high profile media environment.’

TalkTV is the home of presenters like Piers Morgan and Jeremy Kyle, and the former publicly sympathised with Phillip on social media following his departure from the show.

Exit: The presenter, 61, left This Morning after admitting to an affair with a younger man which he branded ‘ill-advised by not illegal’ (Phillip pictured in May 2023 with Holly Willoughby)

However, a legal representative for Phillip told The Mirror that the presenter was not planning on joining TalkTV, saying: ‘Absolutely not as far as I know.’

In a recent interview with the BBC, Phillip said he believed his career was ‘over’ and he had ‘lost everything’ after admitting he had lied about his relationship with a younger man on This Morning.

‘I have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart,’ he told the publication. ‘What am I going to do with my days? I see nothing ahead of me but blackness, sadness regret, remorse and guilt. I did something very wrong, and then I lied about it consistently.’

He said the criticism he’s faced since admitting the affair has had a ‘catastrophic effect’, adding: ‘Do you want me to die? Because that’s where I am. I have lost everything.’

In the interviews, Schofield, who was also dropped by his talent agency YMU after his admission to the Mail about the ‘unwise but not illegal relationship’, said he was ‘utterly broken and ashamed’.

Schofield told the BBC that the young man, who worked as a runner for a short period on This Morning, was 20 when he first had any kind of sexual contact with him.

He told The Sun they had become friends but in 2017 – three years before he came out as gay and separated from wife Stephanie Lowe after 27 years – ‘something happened that just changed it’.

There was ‘a consensual moment’ in Schofield’s dressing room after a show and ‘it was mutual’.

Reaction: A TV expert claimed that Phillip could make a career comeback on TalkTV, but a legal representative said, ‘Absolutely not as far as I know’

He said he did not have a ‘love affair’ with the man and that ‘it was not a relationship, we were not boyfriends, we were mates’.

He said ‘it wasn’t feelings’ he was getting but it was ‘more like mates: excitement’. He added: ‘I was really struggling with my sexuality at that time in the build up to what happened.’ The pair only had ‘five or six romantic encounters’ over a period of around six months.

He said they met at Schofield’s apartment in south-east London only once after he phoned the young man to invite him over for a beer.

He also denied using ITV money to pay for taxis for the man, saying: ‘I don’t have an ITV account.’

Schofield said he had ‘no excuse’ for what happened, ‘no one did anything wrong apart from me’ and ‘I was unprofessional, one time, in a 41-year career’.

In a recent interview, Phillip said that his former This Morning co-presenter Holly Willoughby – who was not aware of the affair – was ignoring his messages apologising and pleading for forgiveness.

In an interview with The Sun, he apologised to Holly for lying to her about his relationship, saying: ‘I’ve lost my best friend.’

He added: ‘I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down. Holly did not know and she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say: “I am so, so sorry that I lied to you”.

‘She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply as well. So, yeah, if anyone is in any way linking Holly to this, that is absolutely, wholly untrue.’

When she returned to the show, Holly gave a full statement about the events and said: ‘Hi there. Good morning. Josie [Gibson], thank you for being here. Right, deep breath. Firstly, are you OK? It feels very strange indeed sitting here without Phil.

‘And I imagine that you might have been feeling a lot like I have – shaken, troubled, let down, worried for the wellbeing of people on all sides of what’s been going on, and full of questions.

‘You, me and all of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth, who acted in a way that they themselves felt that they had to resign from ITV, and step down from a career that they loved. That is a lot to process.

‘And it’s equally hard to see the toll that it’s taken on their own mental health. I think what unites us all now is a desire to heal for the health and wellbeing of everyone.

Having her say: When she returned to the show this week Holly Willoughby said of Phillip, ‘All of us at This Morning gave our love and support to someone who was not telling the truth’

‘I hope that, as we start this new chapter and get back to a place of warmth and magic that this show holds for all of us, we can find strength in each other.

‘And, from my heart, can I just say thank you for all of your kind messages. And thank you for being here this morning. Myself, Josie [Gibson], Dermot [O’Leary], Alison [Hammond], Craig [Doyle], and every single person that works on this show will continue to work hard every single day to bring you this show that we love.’

Holly and Phil had presented the show together since 2009 and also co-hosted Dancing On Ice.

Holly’s return to the show after a two-week break comes as the ITV show has been plagued by allegations of ‘toxicity’, including from former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes who has alleged there was a ‘total cover-up’ over the Schofield affair.