ITV SCANDAL
ITV boss reveals what would have happened to Philip Schofield if he’d come clean about his affair with show runner
THE boss of ITV yesterday admitted failing to carry out a formal investigation into Phillip Schofield’s affair with a young colleague — and said she would have sacked him if she had known the truth.
During a grilling by MPs, chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall branded the relationship “deeply inappropriate”.
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But, despite rumours swirling around ITV for years, she admitted only “ongoing reviews” were held — and none established the full facts.
Schofield, 61, left This Morning last month when it emerged he had lied over the relationship with a runner almost 30 years his junior.
Dame Carolyn was called to the Commons to give evidence about the scandal, alongside ITV’s managing director Kevin Lygo and lawyer Kyla Mullins.
During the 90-minute session, Mr Lygo poured scorn on criticisms from former This Morning presenter Eamonn Holmes and vehemently denied allegations of a toxic culture on the show.
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But he was later contradicted when he said he could not recall a single complaint — only for MP John Nicolson to read out an email confirming Mr Lygo had been told of a bullying claim. Dame Carolyn was also left red-faced after being told This Morning staffers referred to their audience as “Tower block Traceys” — a phrase she insisted she had never heard.
She told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee she first became aware of a rumour about the relationship in December 2019, having joined ITV two years previous.
Schofield and the runner — identified only as Person X — both “categorically denied” any affair.
Person X was asked 12 times, including twice with a human resources staffer present.
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When asked if ITV had pressured him to remain silent, she said: “I want to be clear it was Phillip putting him under pressure — not ITV putting him under pressure. They are two quite different things.” She said Person X was given counselling and added: “We were helping him to talk freely without anybody else in the organisation even knowing about it.”
Dame Carolyn denied the affair was an “open secret” at ITV.
Asked how she would respond to claims by critics including Piers Morgan that ITV knew about Schofield and Person X, she said: “The people who say they knew would have only heard rumours. With evidence, we would have been able to launch a formal investigation.
“The imbalance of power, the imbalance of dynamics in that relationship, make it deeply inappropriate and we have policies that say that clearly.
“We worked very hard for many months to ask people — not just Phillip and Person X, but people in production — if they knew something was going on.”
Asked if she would have sacked Schofield if he had confirmed a sexual relationship with Person X, Dame Carolyn said: “Yes, if it was necessary.
“If the investigation said things have emerged that are deeply inappropriate in the workplace, and if we had known that at the time, we would have acted very swiftly.
“If we had had any evidence, or if Phil had said that to us, we would have investigated and we would have taken action. It was inappropriate to have a relationship with someone so junior.”
She was also asked about a showreel Person X was allowed to make in which he hosted cooking segments and interviewed Schofield and co-host Holly Willoughby.
Dame Carolyn said runners are “very ambitious” and such requests “would normally be granted”.
And she insisted there was no evidence to support claims Person X was moved to Loose Women after the relationship ended. She said: “He absolutely applied for that job and it was a promotion.”
However, Mr Lygo later admitted it was not unfeasible for staff to be moved at a “presenter’s request”.
He said: “I suppose it is possible if a producer or a presenter found someone difficult, they may say they are finding it difficult to work with that person and then maybe appropriate action would be taken.
“But I don’t know of an example.” Mr Lygo said he asked Schofield directly if there was anything they should know about the rumours, first in February 2022 when he came out on This Morning, and last month when he stepped down.
He added: “He looked me in the eye and promised me there was no truth to the rumours of this relationship. Because it was corroborated by Person X, I believed him and I believed his agent.
“Then two days later, he comes out and says, ‘No, it’s a lie’.”
Dame Carolyn said Schofield texted her to apologise for lying but did not say whether she responded.
She said she ordered an external investigation after Schofield left, with stars including his co-host Holly to be questioned.
She said repeatedly that bosses were waiting on the outcome to see if changes needed to be made.
But she conceded that some practices may be considered “inappropriate” — including presenters being allowed to pick and choose which runners they work with.
Dame Carolyn, Mr Lygo and Ms Mullins also denied they knew of a toxic culture at This Morning.
They were read a tweet from former host Eamonn Holmes in which he claimed: “Schofield has finally been caught out . . . but he’s not the only guilty party.
“Four high members of ITV management knew what sort of man he was and never once took action.”
Mr Lygo suggested Holmes was bitter after leaving the show as part of a shake-up in 2020.
MP Mr Nicolson read out two damning emails from staff, with one saying: “I worked for a boss at Daytime. My boss was very difficult and would as a matter of course often shout and belittle staff.
“It went on for years with nobody doing anything about it. It was a toxic environment.”
The bosses were also quizzed on This Morning boss Martin Frizell’s decision to joke about questions of toxicity on the long-running show.
Dame Carolyn answered: “I don’t believe anything Martin said there in the heat of the moment is reflected in our culture.”
ITV’s external review into This Morning, which is being carried out by Jane Mulcahy KQ, will begin within weeks.
Dame Carolyn insisted: “She can interview anyone she wants, she can go anywhere she wants — there will be nothing to hide.”
She also confirmed ITV would publish the findings.
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When asked if people would lose their jobs following the review, she said: “I don’t want to get into hypotheticals. Depending on findings, we will listen, learn and act.”
After the hearing ended, Mr Nicolson posted a video on Twitter of him reading out the emails.
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He said: “ITV staff have been writing to me telling me about bullying and their toxic work environment. I read out some of the emails to the ITV boss.
“But here’s something astonishing. She says she’s only had two bullying complaints in five years. Are staff scared to come forward?”
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