By Mark Savage
BBC Entertaiment Correspondent
Phillip Schofield made a substantial payment to a colleague he had an affair with, in a deal that came with a non-disclosure agreement, it has emerged.
The former This Morning presenter left ITV last year after he admitted lying about the relationship.
Lawyers for the star have confirmed he later helped pay his former lover’s legal fees, as well as compensation for the loss of his job and home.
The arrangement came with a non-disclosure agreement for both sides.
Details of the payment were first reported by the Mail on Sunday, which claimed that Schofield had handed over a six-figure sum.
This figure has not been confirmed by the BBC.
Image source, PA Media
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield presented This Morning and Dancing On Ice together
Schofield left his role on This Morning last May following reports of a rift with his co-star Holly Willoughby.
Days later, the show was engulfed in scandal when Schofield confirmed he had had a “consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague”, which took place while Schofield was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.
The presenter had first met the younger man when he was 15. Four years later, Schofield helped him secure work experience on This Morning.
Their relationship is believed to have begun a year later, when the man was 20, by which point he had been given a job as a runner.
After the story emerged, Schofield apologised for lying to his colleagues, the media and his friends and family about the affair, and left ITV with immediate effect.
In an interview with BBC News, he characterised the relationship as a “grave error” and said his “career is over”.
The star also addressed the question of the power dynamics of the relationship, and whether he had abused his position.
“I understand that, and it’s a very valid question to put to me,” Schofield told Amol Rajan.
“If it’s an abuse of power, it’s not in my nature to be that person, but of course it could be perceived as that. But that wasn’t how it felt at the time.”
ITV conducted a review into its handling of the affair last year.
In a report, it said it had made “considerable efforts” to find out the truth in 2020, but that both parties had “repeatedly denied” their relationship.
Schofield “reluctantly declined” to take part in the review because of “the risks to his health”.
Both he and his former partner are said to be in a fragile state following the public revelation of their affair.
Last week, This Morning announced its new presentation team would be Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
Willoughby quit the show “for me and my family”, five months after Schofield’s revelation.
