Phillip Schofield on This Morning
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ITV boss admits ‘imbalance of power’ made Phillip Schofield’s relationship with This Morning colleague ‘deeply inappropriate’

Phillip quit ITV last month

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The Phillip Schofield affair has been spoken about by an ITV boss. The boss has admitted that the “imbalance of power” in the This Morning host’s relationship with a fellow colleague was “deeply inappropriate”.

Phillip quit ITV and was dropped by his management last month after confessing to having lied about his affair.

Phillip Schofield on This Morning
Phillip’s affair has been slammed (Credit: ITV)

Phillip Schofield affair slammed by ITV boss

Today saw the Chief Executive of ITV, Dame Carolyn McCall face questions from MPs about Phillip Schofield’s exit from ITV.

During the questioning, Dame Carolyn criticised Phillip’s affair, branding the “imbalance of power, the imbalance of dynamics” within the relationship “deeply inappropriate”. She then said that ITV would have taken action. However, no evidence of the relationship was ever found during reviews.

She continued, saying: “We were repeatedly told nothing was happening.” She then said that both Phillip and his ex-lover both denied the affair “both formally and informally.”

Phillip Schofield on This Morning
Phillip is reportedly receiving counselling after his ITV exit (Credit: ITV)

ITV boss expresses concern for Phillip Schofield following affair scandal

Dame Carolyn then said: “There was only hearsay and rumour and speculation… Nobody on the board would have turned a blind eye to something as serious as this.”

She then revealed that Phillip has been receiving counselling after his ITV exit. She confessed that she is “very concerned” about his wellbeing too.

We were repeatedly told nothing was happening.

Dame Carolyn also confirmed that there is no “gagging order” or NDA preventing Phillip’s ex-lover from speaking out.

Holly Willoughby on This Morning
Holly isn’t ready to forgive (Credit: ITV)

Holly ‘nowhere near’ forgiving Phillip

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that Holly Willoughby is “nowhere near” ready to forgive Phillip yet.

There have been plenty of calls for Holly to quit This Morning in the wake of the scandal. However, according to a source, the 42-year-old has no intention of doing so.

“She wants to make it work and she wants to help navigate the programme through a really difficult chapter. A lot of people still want to try to force her out. She knows that. But she is not going to be bullied or pushed around and she’s fuming over the backlash directed at her,” a source reportedly told Closer.

“Although Holly is nowhere near able to forgive or forget, she still feels a huge affection for the show, for its staff and for ITV as well. Holly is actually a lot stronger than people give her credit for. She is focused on making sure the show recovers from the problems it has gone through in recent weeks.”

Read more: Alison Hammond ‘heartbroken’ amid claims she was ‘used’ by Holly Willoughby

This Morning airs on weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX. 

ITV bosses quizzed by MPs after Phillip Schofield's exit from This Morning

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Robert Emlyn Slater
Senior Writer