This Morning will run on Monday as normal and there are “no plans” to axe it, ITV has said, as it faces questions over Phillip Schofield’s affair with a younger male colleague.
On Friday, Schofield confirmed he had a relationship with an employee while married and lied repeatedly to hide it.
Former culture secretary Nadine Dorries said ITV had questions to answer.
The broadcaster said it investigated in 2020 and found no evidence of the affair beyond “hearsay and rumour”.
Both Schofield and the junior colleague had “categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours”, it said on Saturday.
Its statement came after some former ITV daytime figures, such as Eamonn Holmes and Dan Wootton, said the revelations raised questions about how much the network’s managers knew about the relationship.
In a further statement on Sunday, an ITV spokesperson said: “As we said on the record yesterday, This Morning is not under review and there’s no plans for the show to be axed.
“This Morning will return as normal tomorrow.”
Schofield quit the programme last weekend, and Holly Willoughby is on an “extended half term break” until 5 June.
Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary are among the other presenters who normally stand in for them, although it is not clear whether they will be the presenters on Monday.
On Sunday, Ms Dorries told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme there appeared to be an understanding that everything would move on following Schofield’s “grovelling apology”.
“It’s not the case, I’m afraid, because what it does is ask questions about what happened.
“We know there were complaints lodged with ITV over a long period of time – what happened to those complaints?”
She continued: “And how did that young boy get a job at ITV – what were the processes that were involved and what were the safeguarding processes that were in place for someone who was so young at that age?”
Schofield quit ITV on Friday after admitting to the affair with the man, which he described as “unwise, but not illegal”.
In a statement to the Daily Mail on Friday, he said: “I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.”
He was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe at the time. They separated in 2020 after he came out as gay.
Schofield said he was “so, very, very sorry” for being unfaithful to his wife, and for lying to his colleagues, agents, employers, friends, the media, the public and his family about the relationship.
On Saturday, Willoughby said it was “very hurtful” to discover her former co-host had lied to her about his affair.
She posted on Instagram: “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.”
