Phillip Schofield responds to claims This Morning was ‘toxic’
Phillip Schofield has it back at claims This Morning had a “toxic” environment (Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Phillip Schofield has responded to claims the culture at ITV’s This Morning was “toxic”, in his first statement since news of his affair with a younger male colleague broke.
The 61-year-old quit ITV after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a young man he first met as a teenager (Phillip Schofield says the relationship was platonic until he began working on This Morning as an adult).
Since then, former This Morning stars Eamonn Holmes and Dr Ranj Singh have spoken out about an allegedly toxic culture on-set.
Schofield decried the claims in an Instagram story on Monday morning (29 May), saying it is the “best” show to work on and there was “no toxicity” all the years he was a presenter.
Sharing the statement to his 2.9 million followers, Schofield wrote: “Now I no longer work on @thismorning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.
“This Morning IS the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity. You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like.
“But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know, it IS a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard working people.”
Eamonn Holmes and Dr Ranj call out This Morning
Phillip Schofield quit This Morning on 20 May, and subsequently resigned from ITV with “immediate effect” on Friday (26 May) after admitting to an on-off affair with a younger staff member while he was married to wife of 27 years Stephanie Lowe.
On Friday, Eamonn Holmes tweeted that “Schofield has finally been caught out” but was “not the only guilty party”.
“Four high members of ITV management knew what sort of man he was …and NEVER once took action to prevent him controlling or taking advantage of his position over young people,” he wrote in a bombshell tweet.
On Sunday (28 May), Dr Ranj claimed he was used “less and less” on the show after sharing concerns with top ITV bosses.
The TV doctor said he was part of This Morning for a decade and “genuinely loved and valued working there”.
However, “over time I grew increasingly worried about things behind the scenes and how people, including myself, were being treated”, he wrote on Twitter,
“I didn’t know the truth about what was going on with Phillip, but I do know the issues with This Morning go far beyond him. It takes more than one person to create a culture.”
In the lengthy statement, Singh continued: “I even took my concerns directly to the top of ITV: the culture at This Morning had become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out.”
He concluded by saying he is still “hurt” by what happened and the process was “heart-breaking” but now “know my worth and have found my tribe”.
ITV previously told PinkNews it investigated rumours of a relationship between Schofield and an ITV employee in 2020, and that the pair denied the rumours.
In a statement, ITV said Schofield’s statement “reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU [his agent], to the media and to others over this relationship”.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, Phillip Schofield said the relationship with the junior colleague was “unwise, but not illegal” and is now over.
ITV has been contacted for comment.
