Caroline Flack's mother urges Phillip Schofield 'not to do anything silly' after he said he'd 'lost everything'
3 June 2023, 07:05 | Updated: 3 June 2023, 07:10
Caroline Flack's mother has begged Phillip Schofield not to do "anything silly" after the former This Morning presenter revealed he had "lost everything" after leaving the show under a cloud.
Schofield resigned from ITV last week and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to a "consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning", which he said was "unwise, but not illegal".
The affair took place before Schofield publicly came out as gay in 2020, and while he was still married to wife Stephanie Lowe, whom he wed in 1993.
The presenter had denied the relationship when questioned by the broadcaster about rumours in 2020.
"I do not know a time I will be able to walk out of the door," he told the Sun.
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"I don't have any spirit. My friends tell me, 'It will get better'.
"It won't. Not now. Not this one."
Christine Flack, whose TV presenter daughter Caroline committed suicide in 2020, said: "I hate the thought that Phillip and this young man are going through such an awful time. It's bad enough when it's in private, but when it's in every single paper and first thing on the news.
"It's just ridiculous. Wait to see what happens," she told the BBC.
"Let's hope for the best. I send my regard to Phillip and the young lad, and hope they get over this. Don't do anything silly. You've got your daughters, you've got your friends."
She added: "And I hope the young lad's got someone as well, that they can talk to."
Caroline Flack also worked for ITV, and Christine slammed the channel.
Asked if TV bosses had learned anything from her daughter's death, she said: "No. They haven't learned anything. They haven't. They treat them as commodities. I know it's a lovely job and they earn money. But also the television stations earn money from them.
"But they're not commodities, they're people. And they're employed. And if my employer didn't take care of me, there'd be all hell to pay. And there's not. They're just sidelined, and they're not protected.
"They could have someone speaking for him really, whether he did right or wrong. And even his agent, and all his friends. It's not a good look really."
She added: "In a way, he's safeguarded them. He's taken things on himself. I can't imagine a group of people working that close that weren't aware of something something. Maybe they should have spoken to him more. I still think he should have been looked after, and as you say the young man as well."
ITV said: "The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Phillip made assurances to us and his agency which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.
"As a producer and broadcaster, ITV takes its responsibilities around Duty of Care seriously and has robust and well established processes in place to support the mental and physical health of employees and all those we work with."
Schofield, 61, said though he hasn't suffered any abuse on the street, he fears being shouted at or spat on.
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"Are they spitting on me because I had an affair at work and lied about it?" he asked.
"You watch all these layers of you slide away and slide away and slide away - the things that were dear to you.
"But I deserve it. It's my fault. I deserve it."
He added that he is getting by "hour by hour. I have got my girls and my friends."
Schofield also insisted that he wouldn't use social media again, after being hounded online, and has deleted all apps and silenced notifications.
"Why would I ever, ever go back there?", he said.
ITV has launched an external review into Schofield's departure from This Morning after the presenter lied to his bosses, colleagues and his wife about the affair.
