Eamonn Holmes has insisted that he and Ruth Langsford were lied to by Phillip Schofield as they were branded ‘hypocrites’ on social media this morning. This comes as Philip Schofield cut all ties with ITV.
Schofield has come under fire after his affair with a much younger ITV employee was exposed. After stepping down from presenting duties with This Morning, Schofield has since resigned from hosting the British Soap Awards, and quit ITV entirely.
As speculation turned to Eamonn Holmes and what exactly he knew about the situation, the presenter and TV personality has hit back at his online critics.
Eamonn Holmes hits back at critics branding him a ‘hypocrite’
Last night he tweeted that Schofield had been ‘caught out’ and claimed bosses at ITV were aware of his behaviour.
While he was praised by many for condemning his former colleague, some critics questioned why he was only speaking now.
“Not sure I buy that you’ve just found out new intel when many of us knew. What has changed, other than public perception?” wrote one user.
“Backtracking are we, Eamonn?” said another.
“Dunno why people clapping Eamonn for speaking out now, if he knew why’s he not spoken out in the years before?” asked a third.
“As for Eamonn Holmes being outraged, he’s a hypocrite!” said another user, sharing a clip from their interview which showed the foursome hugging and laughing on the day they put aside their feud and Schofield came out as gay.
Posting on his own Twitter account, Eamonn hit back at his detractors, replying: “Ruth and I (were) deceived and lied to. One day I will tell the story. We had no issue with him being gay, only support. What transpired took us for fools. The man told us complete lies and we unfortunately believed him.”
Ruth and I deceived and lied to . One day I willl tell the story. We had no issue with him being Gay, only support. What transpired took us for fools . The man told us complete lies and we unfortunately believed him. https://t.co/QL9rAcaueZ
— Eamonn Holmes OBE (@EamonnHolmes) May 26, 2023
Phillip Schofield releases statement as he cuts all ties with ITV
Schofield released a statement last night in which he stepped down from his role presenting The British Soap Awards – and resigned entirely from ITV.
His full statement reads: “I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
“The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. 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.
“When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody forced me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague. He was never moved on or sacked by or because of me.
“In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship. But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him. So for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
Phillip Schofield steps down from ITV Soap Awards
“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. So very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife,” Schofield continued.
“I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment. And I am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
“I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.”
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