Phillip Schofield paid tribute to his fellow This Morning presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford after coming out as gay on the magazine show.
The 57-year-old TV presenter, who has been married to Stephanie Lowe for 27 years, shared a heartfelt statement on social media on Friday saying he was "coming to terms with the fact that I am gay."
He then swapped his usual presenter role on This Morning to be interviewed by co-star and friend Holly Willoughby, where he revealed the struggles he had faced and told how he had received love and support from his family.
After making the announcement about his sexuality Phillip, from Oldham, was hugged by Eamonn and Ruth and he and Holly were joined by the pair on the sofa.
Phillip, who has two daughters Molly and Ruby with Stephanie, has since tweeted in praise of the TV couple.
"Can I just say that @EamonnHolmes & @RuthieeL were utterly magnificent with me today, privately downstairs just the three of us and upstairs in front of the world," he wrote.
"I couldn’t have hoped for a better, calming and loving set of hugs and support, I adore them both."
Phillip also responded to some criticism that Eamonn received after making a joke about sitting in a hot tub with Holly, who is married to TV producer Dan Baldwin.
Eamonn joked: "I'm disappointed in a couple of ways. First of all I thought you were going to come in and announce you had resigned and I could have your job, but that wasn't to be.
"And the second thing, there is this great imponderable in life that has always bothered me, I thought how come he can sit in a hot tub with Holly Willoughby and Steph doesn't have a problem and Dan doesn't have a problem."
Phillip said: "And for the record, @EamonnHolmes made me laugh, he lightened a very emotional moment and I’m very happy that he did."
The high-profile presenter revealing his sexuality has been hailed as 'brave and powerful, including by LGBT charity Stonewall.
And a number of fellow presenters have publicly shown their support for Phil including Ant and Dec who tweeted: "Huge respect and admiration for our friend."
And actor and singer John Barrowman, who appears with Schofield on the ITV series Dancing On Ice, said "The nation loves you for who you are".
