Phillip Schofield affair with younger man: ITV say rumours were investigated in 2020

ITV has released an official statement saying they launched an investigation into a rumoured relationship between Phillip Schofield and a younger male employee in early 2020, although Schofield denied the claims at the time.

It comes after Schofield said he was in an on-and-off relationship with his younger colleague, which he defined as “unwise but not illegal."

He said: "I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning. Contrary to speculation, 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.”

The 61-year-old former This Morning host has since been dropped by his agency YMU and will no longer present any shows on ITV.

An ITV spokesperson said: "Further to our statement last night, ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated.

"Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip's then agency YMU.

"In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.

"Phillip's statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship."