Phillip Schofield’s ‘patronage’ assisted lover’s ITV career, review finds

A recent investigation, led by an independent KC team, has discovered that Phillip Schofield's support of a younger male colleague he was involved with romantically undoubtedly helped the man's initial success at ITV. After this, the colleague was able to continue making progress independently.

The host of This Morning decided to resign after confessing that he had fabricated details about a romantic liaison, which he deemed as inappropriate, but not against the law. There have been accusations that ITV executives knew about his involvement with a co-worker who worked as a runner on the program, yet they chose to ignore it.

The blog post reported that Jane Mulcahy KC had conducted interviews with 48 individuals for a review. However, it was noted that Schofield did not participate due to concerns for his health and subsequently, his mental well-being was reported to have worsened.

Even though there were rumors that the affair was common knowledge among ITV employees, Mulcahy discovered that neither the higher-ups at ITV nor the important staff members of This Morning were aware of it before Schofield's announcement. Only one ex-staff member who held a lower position stated that they knew about the affair, but they didn't inform anyone.

The TV network tried really hard to find out if there was a supposed romantic connection between two people, following an article that came out in the Sun at the beginning of December 2019. But because the people involved kept denying it, ITV couldn't get the necessary proof until Schofield's confession towards the end of May 2023. The report says so.

According to the report, when the incident was exposed in 2019, ITV made sure to assist the runner as much as possible. In fact, they continued to offer him considerable help even after his employment had ended, as recently as May 2023.

Accusations were made that the environment at This Morning was poisonous, however Mulcahy revealed that after examining the period in question, she didn't discover proof to back up these accusations.

Mulcahy recommended that the network establish explicit rules for "celebrities" to guarantee that "appropriate conduct is followed, even by those who are widely recognized."

She stated that she firmly believes senior executives highly value transparency and openness within the organization. However, she pointed out that this mindset has not been effectively cascaded down to junior staff members. As a result, many of them still fear speaking up as they think it may negatively affect their career prospects.

In June, ITV commenced an impartial assessment by Mulcahy to scrutinize the company's handling of speculations concerning the bond shared by Schofield and a staffer from This Morning, grievances filed by employees, and whether ITV's reaction was sufficient.

Schofield resigned in May, following 21 years of hosting This Morning. He confessed to being dishonest about having an affair with a colleague while being married to his spouse of three decades, Stephanie Lowe. In February 2020, he publicly announced that he is homosexual.

The media was stunned by the revelation of the affair and Schofield's stepping down. Back in June, MPs in the House of Commons culture, media, and sport committee interrogated ITV's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, about the incident and the general atmosphere within the company.

During an interview, she was questioned about accusations made by ex-hosts like Piers Morgan and Eamonn Holmes regarding Schofield's relationship. According to them, the broadcaster was aware of it, but didn't take any measures.

Holly Willoughby, who was Schofield's co-host for 14 years, left the show in October. After the departure of the two longtime hosts, the show has been presented by a rotating group of hosts, which includes Emma Willis, Dermot O'Leary, Alison Hammond, Craig Doyle, Josie Gibson, and Rylan Clark.

ITV plc's chairman, Andy Cosslett, expressed his approval of the conclusions and suggestions put forth by the study.

He stated that their commitment to the individuals they cooperate with is that in situations where a complaint is filed or severe issues are brought up, they will conduct an inquiry and if they discover any inappropriate occurrences, they will take necessary measures to address the matter.

We will keep working towards enabling our junior colleagues to feel self-assured in speaking up whenever they have something important to share.

I wish that finishing this assessment will let the crew at This Morning resume creating an outstanding program that entertains and educates millions of viewers every week, which they are excellent at.