ITV denies This Morning axe reports while Holly Willoughby breaks silence
ITV has said that "This Morning is not under review and there’s no plans for the show to be axed".
Amid multiple reports that the future of ITV Daytime show This Morning could be in doubt after Phillip Schofield's claims to have misled multiple parties surrounding an affair with a colleague, ITV has clarified that the show is not currently under review.
Responding to a report from The Mirror that the show could be axed, a spokesperson for ITV on Saturday (28th May 2023) commented: "As we said on the record earlier today, This Morning is not under review and there’s no plans for the show to be axed. This Morning will return on Monday."
This came as Schofield's former co-host Holly Willoughby broke her silence over Schofield's departure from ITV and admission of the affair, taking to Instagram to address the developments and to claim that she too had been misled by Schofield.
Willoughby said in an Instagram Story post: "It's taken time to process yesterday's news. When reports of this relationship first surfaced, I asked Phil directly if this was true and was told it was not. It's been very hurtful to now find out that this was a lie. Holly."
Willoughby is expected to return to This Morning on Monday 5th June after a break for half term.
Schofield departed all of his current and future ITV roles on Friday (26th May) and told the Daily Mail in a statement: "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.
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"I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife."
"I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
"I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it."
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ITV subsequently released a statement on Saturday 27th May saying that "when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated", and that the broadcaster was "not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour".
Schofield has also parted ways with his management YMU with Mary Bekhait, the Group CEO of YMU Group, commenting on Friday: "Honesty and integrity are core values for YMU’s whole business, defining everything we do. Talent management is a relationship based entirely on trust.
"This week, we have learned important new information about our client Phillip Schofield. These facts contradicted what Phillip had previously told YMU, as well as the external advisors we had brought in to support him. As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect."
This Morning will return on ITV1 and ITVX at 10am on Monday 29th May 2023.
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
