A "visibly shaking" Phillip Schofield has addressed his departure from This Morning and his relationship with a much younger member of staff, who he met when he was a teen.
For more about the scandal, you can read our comprehensive coverage of it here and here.
Schofield has already spoken out via two carefully worded statements, however this is his first sit down interview on the subject, published in British tabloid The Sun.
Durin the chat Schofield insisted: "I did not, I did not [groom him]", referring to his lover's "totally innocent life."
Watch: Phillip Schofield claims he did not groom his lover in an exclusive interview with The Sun. Post continues after video.
After news of the father-of-two's affair with the young staffer went public, Schofield was accused of abusing his power, given his long-standing position at the ITV network and his wholesome family image.
It was also revealed that Schofield had in fact met his lover when he was just a teen, who had big dreams of working in television. He eventually helped him to get a job as a runner, but Schofield insists the relationship began when he was of legal age.
"There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way [an abuse of power] because we'd become mates. I don’t know about that," Schofield said in the interview.
He admitted that he could see why he was copping "massive judgement" from fans and colleagues.
According to reports, there'd long been whispers of Schofield's infidelity – it was even brought to the attention of the network's bosses in 2019 who were "urged" to investigate.
GB News' Dan Wootton tweeted: "I told ITV about Phillip Schofield's affair with his young colleague in 2019 and urged them to investigate but they dismissed it as 'malicious gossip'."
Schofield reflected on office suspicions to The Sun, but failed to mention Wootton. "I assume somebody, somewhere, assumed something was going on, correctly, and didn't say anything."
"At the time I did not think about it possibly ruining my career. I really probably only thought about it when I saw the rumour mill and saw it growing."
Referring to their first meeting, Schofield said, "I saw the link with the drama school photo all those years before, and thought, 'This looks shocking'. But I didn't lie to protect my career, he didn’t want his name in public. He wanted his own life."
Schofield said their relationship began to suffer as his lies “grew bigger and bigger and bigger.”
Yet, the 61-year-old doesn't see what he did was anything other than an "affair at work".
Without addressing his former wife of 30 years, Stephanie, or his two daughters, Ruby and Molly, Schofield said he owed his "greatest apology" to his lover.
"I haven't spoken to him since this s**t show kicked off... I'm sorry. And I will forever be sorry. I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified."
Feature Image: The Sun.
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