Craig Revel Horwood has defended Phillip Schofield following his hookup with a teenage This Morning colleague.
Schofield, 62, admits lying to his family, colleagues, and fans about his connection with a runner on the ITV daytime show This Morning and later resigned from ITV.
Schofield should be ‘let alone,’ says the Strictly judge, 58.
‘I think Phillip Schofield is entitled to a private life,’ he said.
‘Yes, he lied to his colleagues, which is wrong, but he wanted to protect himself and his former lover.
‘It pales in comparison to a war, where innocent people are dying. It’s not like he’s murdered anyone.
‘How many CEOs have extra-marital affairs with secretaries? A lot. It doesn’t make sense to me that it became quite as huge as it did. Leave him alone now, I say.’
Holly Willoughby, Schofield’s former This Morning co-host, claimed she was “shaken, upset, and let down” by his revelation when she returned to the show for the first time since his departure, releasing a message to viewers.
Alison Hammond burst into tears on the air after Schofield said he’d had suicide thoughts.
‘I’m finding this really painful,’ she said. ‘I loved Phillip Schofield. It’s weird because I still love Phillip Schofield.
‘However, what he’s done is wrong. He’s admitted it. He’s said sorry. As a family, we’re really struggling to process everything. I never know what to say.’
Jeremy Clarkson and Piers Morgan are among the celebrities who have come out in support of the broadcaster, calling for the ‘witch-hunt’ against him to halt.
Schofield retired from television after a 40-year career as one of the country’s leading broadcasters.
I’ve lost everything. It’s all gone,’ he told The Sun.
‘Telly was my safe space, the one thing I loved. Now I don’t know if I will ever work on telly again.’
He’s subsequently denied, through his lawyer, that he’ll be making a TV comeback on TalkTV.
Dame Carolyn McCall, the CEO of ITV, will appear before a parliamentary committee on Wednesday to answer questions regarding the This Morning controversy.
Source My Celebrity Life.
