Phillip Schofield today came out as gay after keeping it secret for his whole life.
The 57-year-old This Morning presenter, who has been married to Stephanie Lowe for nearly 27 years, .
Minutes later he joined co-star Holly Willoughby on the This Morning sofa, and the "guilt" he felt at throwing his wife and two adult daughters, Molly and Ruby, into the spotlight.
During his short appearance, which came on a day he and Holly are usually off, Phil confirmed he wasn't being pressured into coming out.
"This is absolutely my decision. It was something I knew that I had to do," he told Holly, Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.
"And I don't know what the world will be like, no, I don't know how this will be taken or what people will think. But what I would say is, 'Yes I am very, very conscious of the hurt and so my overriding emotion for my family is obviously going to be guilt because I do feel guilty that this can't be anything other than a painful process.'"
Phillip also singled out Holly in particular for giving him the strength to come to terms with his sexuality.
"I'm doing each day at a time now and this has always been a slow process," he told her when she asked if he was now looking for a new relationship.
"There is no fast process after this. This is the big day and this is the day I knew everything was pointing towards. And I could not have done it if it hadn't been for you.”
Holly then emotionally told him: "Whatever happens in the future, I'll be sat by your side, forever and ever."
Here, body language expert Judi James analyses how Phillip took on the biggest moment of his professional career - and the incredible bond between him and Holly that helped him come out...
"The normally ebullient and super-professional presenter Phillip moved across the couch divide this morning to sit more in the role of interviewee as Holly smiled and showed empathy to help support her colleague and friend.
"Phillip looked tired but brave and it was clear to see that every time he looked up into Holly's caring smile he was struggling to continue without allowing the emotions to take over.
"His pose was self-diminished and his normally smooth forehead looked etched with lines of sadness. His gesticulation had moments of his usual energy but he also sat with his hands clasped tightly together in his lap, with his finger-pick giving a hint of possible anxiety.
"His accelerated blink rate and emphatic swallowing suggested he might have been struggling to hold back the tears, but when he mentioned his wife and his kids, saying they were 'all together', his hand clasp rose up to chest level to endorse that message."
