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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Courtney Pochin

Real reason we are not naming Phillip Schofield's 'much younger' ex-boyfriend

Phillip Schofield, his love life and his exit from This Morning have been front page news for several weeks.

While the presenter and his co-star Holly Willoughby - not to mention his former colleagues and ITV itself - have issued various statements, his younger ex-lover has stayed firmly out of the limelight.

After weeks of rumours circulating about an ongoing 'feud' between Phillip and his then This Morning co-host Holly, things came to a head when the 61-year-old presenter suddenly departed the show.

Days later he publicly confessed he had lied to his family, colleagues, and management about having an affair with the younger member of staff at ITV, while still married to his now-ex-wife Stephanie Lowe.

Following the affair revelation, the identity of Phillip's former lover has become a great interest for many of our readers.

However, The Mirror - along with other mainstream media titles - is not naming or picturing him out of respect for his privacy.

Phil Schofield pictured with co-host Holly Willoughby and his younger on-off boyfriend (Twitter)

The decision has not been made on legal grounds and the social media rumours of injunctions and super-injunctions are wide of the mark.

Phillip claimed he hid the fling in order to "protect" his former colleagues.

What is known is that the pair first met when the TV producer-to-be was 15-years-old and Phillip visited the teen's drama school.

Phillip later secured him an interview for a job at This Morning and he was hired as a production assistant for ITV when he was 18.

The former ITV presenter, who was in his 50s at the time, began a friendship with the young man which subsequently turned into an affair.

Phillip insists that the relationship was "unwise" but not "illegal" and the on-off relationship is said to have started when the runner was over 18.

Phillip shared a shocking statement about the affair (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
He claimed the relationship was 'unwise' but not 'illegal' (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

Phil's admission about the affair was shared with the Daily Mail and read: "The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.

"I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife...

"I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.

"I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it."

As well as parting ways with ITV, the TV host has also been dropped by his management company of 35 years, YMU Group.

Mary Bekhait, the Group CEO of YMU Group, said: "Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU's whole business, defining everything we do. Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust.

"This week, we have learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield. These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU, as well as the external advisors we had brought in to support him. As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect."

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