Phillip Schofield: ITV boss tells MPs she did not turn a blind eye to affair

ITV bosses have said they did not "turn a blind eye" to rumours about ex-presenter Phillip Schofield's relationship with a younger colleague.

Schofield left This Morning, and the network, last month after admitting lying about his affair with the man.

On Wednesday, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall told MPs the affair was "deeply inappropriate", but that she had not had evidence until recently.

She added that she was very concerned about the welfare of the pair.

Dame Carolyn and two fellow executives were called in front of the House of Commons culture, media and sport committee to answer questions about ITV's approach to safeguarding and complaint handling.

• As it happened: ITV bosses grilled by MPs

"The imbalance of power, the imbalance in of dynamics in that relationship makes it deeply inappropriate," said Dame Carolyn, who noted she first became aware of rumours when Schofield came out as gay on the show in February 2020.

"That is the first time things got really febrile," with speculation on social media, she said.

They asked Schofield about his alleged relationship after that, but he gave them "straightforward categorical denials each time", she said.

Schofield has apologised for lying to colleagues, employers, the media and public

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ITV director of television Kevin Lygo told the MPs: "He looked me in the eye and promised me that there was absolutely no truth whatsoever in this, in the rumours of this relationship."

Dame Carolyn added: "We asked multiple times of both individuals, both formally and informally. Because we had no evidence, no-one brought us anything tangible, either on the production floor or from the outside... there was only hearsay and rumour and speculation."

She continued: "Nobody would be turning a blind eye to something. Nobody here on the management board would ever turn a blind eye to something as serious as this."

'Extremely concerned'

Schofield suggested in an interview with the BBC earlier this month that the controversy had left him feeling suicidal. Dame Carolyn said ITV was now paying for his counselling.

She said she spoke to the presenter the day before he stood down from This Morning because she knew it was a "pretty major thing in his life".

"Phillip is receiving counselling, which ITV are funding. He asked for that, and we're very happy to do that," she said.

She added they were also "extremely concerned" about the young man - who met Schofield aged 15 and received help getting into the TV industry - because "the level of intrusion in his life is unbelievably awful".

She said ITV was providing him with "a whole series of duty of care [provisions] all the way through, even though he left the company in 2021".

Dame Carolyn also confirmed there was "no gagging order or NDA [non-disclosure agreement]" to stop the unidentified man, now in his late 20s, from speaking out about the situation.

ITV also said he had not effectively received a pay-off in exchange for his silence.

In his recent BBC interview, Schofield, 61, said he understood why people thought there had been an abuse of power, but that it "didn't feel like that at the time".

The network has instructed a lawyer to carry out an external review to establish the facts about how it handled its own review of rumours of the affair in 2020.

During Wednesday's session, the ITV executives also denied accusations from some previous contributors of a "toxic" culture at the programme.

Dame Carolyn said that suggestion "deeply disappoints me" and "we do not recognise that in This Morning".

She added. "We've had two complaints in five years about that issue [and] both of them taken very seriously."

One of those was from Dr Ranj Singh, who appeared on This Morning for 10 years and said issues "go far beyond" Schofield.

ITV has previously said that after Dr Ranj's complaint, an external review "found no evidence of bullying or discrimination".

'Bullying culture'

But SNP MP John Nicolson said he and other committee members had received "so many messages from folk at ITV, who talk about the bullying culture of ITV".

The former ITV and BBC news presenter read a selection of anonymous messages. One referred to a boss who used to "shout and belittle staff", while another called ITV a "terrible place to work".

The committee's chair Dame Caroline Dinenage concluded by telling the executives there was "clearly some work for ITV to do here to rebuild trust with with us, but more importantly with its staff and with its viewers that it's a safe and welcoming workplace."

She added: "We want to be confident that ITV is not letting star power and favouritism damage the lives and careers of people working there - and, more importantly than that, we want to be confident that when mistakes have been made, ITV will be making changes rather than making jokes about aubergines."

That was a reference to a recent remark made by This Morning editor Martin Frizell when he was asked by a Sky News reporter whether his programme had a toxic workplace. "I'll tell you what's toxic and I've always found it toxic. Aubergine," he replied.

What happens next?

Analysis by Steven McIntosh, entertainment reporter

Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary are the frontrunners to replace Schofield on This Morning

ITV bosses did as much as they could in their attempt to reassure MPs, viewers and advertisers that they had no knowledge of the affair when it was happening, and that their duty of care policies are robust.

We also got some key information from Wednesday's session - perhaps most significantly, confirmation from ITV bosses that they did not reach a financial settlement with the young man in exchange for his silence.

This story may have cooled in the past week or so, but it is not over. The independent investigation being carried out by Jane Mulcahy KC is ongoing and many will be reading its findings closely when they are published.

There are also a few outstanding questions for This Morning. Schofield's replacement as Holly Willoughby's permanent co-host has still not yet been announced. Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary are the frontrunners.

For now, ITV bosses will hope their answers during the two-hour grilling from MPs have done enough to reduce the intense pressure the broadcast network has faced in recent weeks.