Eamonn Holmes says he and his wife Ruth Langsford were taken ‘for fools’ by Phillip Schofield (Picture: GB News/ITV/REX)
Eamonn Holmes has again waded in on the conversation surrounding Phillip Schofield’s bombshell statement that came on Friday night.
Phillip, 61, left This Morning last week over a rumoured ‘feud’ with co-host of 13 years Holly Willoughby.
Now, as revealed in a lengthy statement to the Daily Mail, Phillip has left ITV altogether as he admitted to having an affair with a younger colleague who was a runner on This Morning.
The presenter confessed to lying to ‘his bosses and other colleagues’ about his actions.
Phillip also bowed out of hosting the upcoming British Soap Awards, and shortly after the confession, he was dropped by his talent agency of 35 years.
After the news broke, the 63-year-old GB News presenter – who, alongside his wife Ruth Langsford were axed from their Friday slot on This Morning – took to Twitter to share his thoughts.
Ruth and Eamonn presented their Friday slot on This Morning for 15 years before they were replaced by Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary (Picture: Getty Images)
Phillip Schofield has admitted to having an affair with a younger colleague behind the scenes on This Morning (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/REX)
‘Schofield has finally been caught out … But he’s not the only guilty party,’ he posted.
He went on to claim that a number of ‘ITV management knew what sort of man he was …and NEVER once took action …’
Now, in his most recent comments, Eamonn has claimed he and Ruth felt they were ‘deceived and lied to’ in response to a video circulating of the pair comforting Phillip when he came out as gay on This Morning.
His full Tweet read: ‘Ruth and I deceived and lied to . One day I will tell the story. We had no issue with him being Gay, only support.
‘What transpired took us for fools . The man told us complete lies and we unfortunately believed him.’ [sic]
An ITV spokesperson told Metro.co.uk in a statement: ‘We are deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit made tonight by Phillip Schofield.
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‘The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Philip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.
‘We accept his resignation from ITV and therefore can confirm that he will not be appearing on ITV as had previously been stated.’
Phillip Schofield statement in full
‘I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
‘The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
‘Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
‘When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody “forced” me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me. In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.
‘But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
‘I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
‘I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
‘I will reflect on my very bad judgment in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it. To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so.
‘I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.’
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He’s not holding back.
