Major update as ITV announces review after Phillip Schofield admitted he lied about affair with This Morning worker

ITV has today announced it will launch a review after Phillip Schofield admitted he lied about an affair with a male This Morning worker.

The presenter confessed he had been having an affair with a "much younger" ITV worker while still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.

In a statement, he said the affair was "unwise, but not illegal".

And he apologised for misleading his lawyers - adding: "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."

And ITV has now instructed a barrister to carry out an external review, a letter written by chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall has revealed.

In the letter, she said the company had been "badly let down" after Schofield's assurances.

She said: "The ITV employee was aged 19 when he first did work experience at This Morning in 2015 and 20 years old when he applied and succeeded in securing a job as a runner on the show.

"He subsequently applied for and was successful in securing a promotion to Loose Women in 2019. He left ITV in 2021.

"As you would imagine given the social media scrutiny of him, we have offered him our support throughout this period and indeed are still doing so.

"The employee has made it clear that he does not wish to be named or identified in connection with this matter.

"We would be grateful if you would be mindful of this.

"The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust.

"Phillip made assurances to us and his agency which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.

"We consider our approach was reasonable and proportionate at the time and in the circumstances.

"We believe that we did not have any grounds to mount any other sort of investigation."

It comes after it was revealed Schofield was dropped as patron of Surrey-based children's charity Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.

The decision, however, has not been linked to recent controversies that surround Schofield.

A Shooting Star Children’s Hospices spokesperson instead told SurreyLive: “Phillip Schofield has not been an active patron since 2019 and therefore his patronage was formally ended earlier this year.”

They added: “The decision to stand down Phillip was part of our review of some of our longer-term inactive relationships.”

SCHOFIELD DROPPED

It's the latest in blows to Schofield after revealing he had an affair with the much-younger male employee.

The star, who was married at the time, branded the relationship "unwise but not illegal".

His admission catapulted the show into chaos - with Holly Willoughby's future now in doubt.

Schofields' 40-year career has since been left in tatters - with the Prince's Trust axing him from his role as an ambassador.

He was also scrubbed from This Morning's social media and website as the fallout from his affair continues.

The presenter was also wiped from We Buy Any Car adverts.

Holly Willoughby is expected to continue to host This Morning without her co-presenter - however, it was warned today she was "damaged" by the revelations.

Former commercial director Ian McCulloch said: “They need a fresh start.

"I’m not sure that the talent that they've got, sort of running through at the minute is the right talent. But I think the show is a good show, but you certainly can't have those two."

Videos of Schofield with his lover on ITV have emerged since the affair revelations.

One segment saw the host down whiskey with his lover - who was dressed as an elf for Christmas.

After trying a whiskey from a £1,000 calendar on offer, Schofield turns to his toyboy and asks: "Do you want some?"

The runner then takes a sip from the bottle and gives a thumbs up as his older lover says: "Let's get the elf smashed".

Schofields' 40-year career been left in tatters - with the Prince's Trust axing him from his role as an ambassador as the fallout continues.