Phillip Schofield has addressed the fallout following his affair confession (Picture” ITV)
Phillip Schofield claimed the criticism over the age gap between him and the young male showrunner is stemmed from ‘homophobia.’
Former This Morning presenter Schofield, 61, left the show last month and later resigned from ITV completely after admitting he had lied about the affair with a young runner.
The man, who has not been named, was 15 when they met, with Schofield saying the ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair began after he turned 18.
The relationship occurred while Schofield was still married to his wife of 30 years, Stephanie Lowe, the mother of his two daughters – Ruby and Molly – and before he came out as gay.
In his first first tell-all interview, he addressed the first time he met the young showrunner.
‘We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school (he attended),’ he told The Sun.
Schofield insisted he is not a ‘groomer’ (Picture: BBC)BBC
‘So yeah, there’s a difference. It’s accepted by Leonardo DiCaprio, it’s not accepted if it’s in the gay world.’
He continued: ‘People are attracted to, or have relationships — wise or unwise — with people of different ages. Yes, I see what it looks like from the outside world. I just want to apologise to everyone.’
Willoughby will return from Monday June 5 and will be joined by familiar faces from the This Morning team.
When the news emerged of Schofield’s affair, which happened while he was married to his wife of 30 years Stephanie Lowe, Willoughby said that it was ‘hurtful’ for her to learn the truth.
Schofield lied to his colleagues about the affair (Picture: ITV)
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‘It’s taken time to process yesterday’s news. When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not,’ she said.
‘It’s been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie. Holly.’
It comes after the Daily Mail reported the man was ‘paid off’ by ITV at the end of his relationship with the former presenter.
The man had been moved from This Morning to Loose Women after his relationship with Schofield reportedly soured.
According to the outlet, sources have claimed the runner was given a financial settlement from the broadcaster, which ITV has reportedly refused on numerous occasions to comment on or deny.
In a bombshell interview with GB News, Eamonn Holmes claimed the runner did not ask for the ‘promotion’ to Loose Women and called for the ‘unprecedented’ new role to be investigated, particularly ‘who authorised it.’
MORE : Phillip Schofield doesn’t know if he’ll ever work on TV again: ‘I’ve lost everything, it’s all gone’
‘People are attracted to, or have relationships — wise or unwise — with people of different ages.’