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PHIL'S PAIN
Real reason why Phillip Schofield was NOT quizzed over affair with young runner for ITV probe revealed
One staffer spoke of their 'sheer bewilderment' at the findings
THE REAL reason why Phillip Scofield was not quizzed over his affair with a young runner for an ITV probe has been revealed.
The channels long-awaited report into Schofield’s affair with his colleague on This Morning was released yesterday.
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Schofield left This Morning in May after admitting to lying about his affair with the male runner, at least 30 years his junior.
The channel then asked barrister Jane Mulcahy KC to lead a review into its handling of the relationship.
Phil, 61, and his young lover, a runner, refused to be quizzed.
And a source close to Schofield has now revealed the reason for this.
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They told The Sun: “Phil is in an extremely dark place right now and needs all the support he can get.
“He is unbelievably bruised and broken from these past six months, and was in no state to be interrogated. That is the sole reason he did not contribute to the enquiry — there was no ulterior motive.”
The unnamed runner also did not co-operate, as he “wanted to move on with his life”.
The probe said ITV needed to give clear guidelines to household names on how to behave themselves. But it found no evidence of a toxic culture on This Morning or daytime TV at the channel.
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One staffer spoke of their “sheer bewilderment” at the findings and said: “There is a chasm between this and reality. ITV will need more than policies and procedures to address its culture of silence.”
Another ITV employee said: “The findings were not surprising to say the least. That’s not to say we all agree with them. Rumours of the affair were swirling around the entire floor from 2019.
“Even talent — high-profile names — were aware of the gossip even if they had no proof, or didn’t ask the right questions to the right people.
“It seems utterly implausible only one person knew. It’s a predictably sanitised version of events.
“But lessons will have been learned and bosses are adamant that they are embroiled in no more scandal. Generally it is a happy ship here. Everyone just wants to move on now and start afresh.”
The probe found that most senior management claimed to be unaware of the fling. However, one junior staffer DID know about it as early as 2021, but did not tell anybody for fear it might harm their prospects.
In a damning summary, Ms Mulcahy wrote: “That former junior employee did not report their knowledge at the time.
“Nor did others report suspicions from much earlier in 2017.
“This leads me to emphasise in my recommendations the importance of junior employees having the confidence to raise concerns to management in line with ITV’s Speaking Up policy.
“I have no doubt that senior management are absolutely wedded to the importance of an open culture.
“But this culture is still not filtering down to junior employees, many of whom remain convinced that to speak out will have a detrimental impact on their careers.”
At the top of her recommendations, Ms Mulcahy wrote: “Managers should ensure all staff know there is a safe space to complain or raise concerns.
“No one should be worried that their job will be at risk because they have raised an issue.”
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Her report also told ITV to “take the opportunity to set out clear guidelines for its talent to ensure good behaviours are observed even by those who are household names”.
In response to her comments, ITV chairman Andy Cosslett said: “For the period under review there was no finding of a ‘toxic culture’ and had there been one (she) would have said so.”
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