Dan Wootton has shared an email which claims ITV boss Carolyn McCall was told about the Phillip Schofield affair three years ago.
In a recent interview with the GB News broadcaster, Eamonn Holmes alleged ITV was responsible for a “total cover-up”. The channel is set to be grilled by MPs over the channel’s investigation into Phillip’s affair and how the young man secured his job on This Morning.
Former This Morning staff member warned bosses
Dan Wootton claims he obtained an email from a former This Morning staff member in the Mail Online. The former employee emailed Dame Carolyn McCall and Julian Bellamy, the managing director of ITV Studios, with concerns about Schofield’s “abuse of power”.
The email was sent on February 10, 2020. It suggested that Phillip should be suspended from the programme while the allegations were investigated. The email asked: “Why is he still on our screens? Why have ITV not suspended him pending an internal inquiry?”. The staff member said they would’ve thought a “mainstream broadcaster” such as ITV would do it all it could do to deal with “issues like this”.
Come on ITV. It’s time to take action and do the responsible thing.
The ex-staff member also alleges they provided the bosses with a link to a YouTube video detailing the history of the relationship. It included images of the pair working together on set. It also showed social media interactions between the couple. The staff member concluded the email: “Come on ITV. It’s time to take action and do the responsible thing.”
They claim that the email was ignored by bosses, as well as multiple further messages.
ED! has contacted ITV for comment.
Dan Wootton claims Phillip Schofield affair was dismissed as ‘malicious gossip’
ITV previously claimed it had launched an investigation into Phillip Schofield’s affair in early 2020. ITV said it found no evidence beyond hearsay. It also claimed that Phillip and the young man both denied the affair. But the former This Morning staff member claims they first went to the company with concerns about Phillip in late 2019. They claim the concerns were dismissed as “malicious gossip”.
A report has since claimed that Phillip’s younger lover was not asked about the affair. ITV refused to comment on the email revealed by Dan Woottoon. ITV shared the statement: “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.”
Phillip Schofield did admit that he “lied” to ITV bosses. But the pressure is mounting on executives to quit. MPs are set to call into question the quality of the internal investigation and concerns about how the young man got his job on This Morning in an upcoming televised grilling.
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