Philip Schofield resigns from ITV with ‘immediate effect’ over affair with runner-Kitty Chrisp-Entertainment – Metro

Philip Schofield has made a shock announcement (Picture: Rex)

Philip Schofield has resigned from ITV with ‘immediate affect’.

The former This Morning presenter has made a statement admitting to having an affair with a runner on the show.

This comes after Philip left the ITV show having presented it with Holly Willoughby, 42, for 20 years amid a rumoured ‘feud’.

Now, the presenter has left the channel altogether and will not be hosting the British Soap Awards next week – as he has done since 2006.

He has also been dropped by his agent of 35 years.

Philip made the shock announcement as he revealed he had an ‘on-off relationship’ with a younger man who worked as a showrunner on This Morning.

In a statement, Philip described the affair – which happened when he was married to his wife of 30 years, Stephanie Lowe – as ‘unwise but not illegal’.

Philip and Stephanie have two daughters together; Ruby Lowe, 27, and Molly Lowe, 30.

Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield presented This Morning for 20 years until recently (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

On his resignation from ITV, in a statement to the Daily Mail, he said: ‘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.

Philip then went on to say he would ‘reflect’ on his ‘very bad judgement’ in getting involved in the relationship and lying about it.

‘To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so,’ added Philip.

‘I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.’

Philip admitted he lied to colleagues, family, newspapers, his agent, the public, and his lawyer about the affair (Picture: ITV)

Philip began his statement by saying he had a ‘consensual on-off’ relationship with a ‘younger male colleague at This Morning’.

‘Contrary to speculation,’ he continued, ‘whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship.

‘That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.’

He also added that when he chose to come out as gay he did so ‘entirely for my own wellbeing’ and nobody ‘forced’ him to.

‘Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me,’ he continued.

More: Trending

‘In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.

‘But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

MORE : Popular TV couple tipped to replace Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby as hosts on Dancing On Ice

MORE : Alison Hammond ‘put £700,000 house on market the same day as Phillip Schofield quit This Morning’

Entertainment – MetroRead More