ITV Sets Out Timeline Of How It Dealt With Rumors Of ‘This Morning’ Host Phillip Schofield’s “Deeply Inappropriate” Relationship With Young Runner
16.06.2023 - 03:00
/ deadline.com
ITV has provided a timeline of how it responded to rumors of This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield’s relationship with a younger runner three years before the story burst into the public domain.
The broadcaster gave evidence to UK Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Wednesday morning, with CEO Carolyn McCall saying she welcomed the opportunity to put right “misinformation” about a scandal that has dominated headlines in Britain.
Schofield, one of the UK’s best-known presenters, stepped down as the host of This Morning last month and later admitted to having a relationship with a younger runner, referred to as Person X in ITV’s evidence to lawmakers.
The relationship was the source of rampant speculation at ITV and there have been questions about how senior managers could not have known about Schofield’s potential abuse of power.
McCall — flanked by content chief Kevin Lygo and general counsel Kyla Mullins — tackled this question from the outset of the parliamentary hearing, providing a detailed insight into how it kept rumors of the relationship under review and repeatedly questioned Schofield and Person X.
Scroll on for ITV’s timeline of events:
2015At the age of 19, Person X secured a work experience placement on This Morning after first meeting Phillip Schofield at the opening of a theatre school years earlier. There are conflicting accounts of when this first encounter took place, but The Daily Mail has reported that Person X was 15 at the time.
Schofield passed Person X’s details on to a contact at ITV. Person X then filled out a work placement form, on which he described Schofield as a “family friend.”
ITV’s Kyla Mullins said the broadcaster offers work experience to 50 to 60 people on its