Phillip Schofield has publicly admitted to having an affair with a male ITV employee who is much younger than him.

The relationship occurred while he was still married and the presenter has now revealed the truth after stepping down from all his roles at ITV. The admission was published in a statement given to in the Daily Mail very soon after his agents announced that they were parting with him as a client, with immediate effect.

His former agents YMU Group, said that honesty and integrity‚ were the core values of their company and their relationships are "based entirely on trust". Group CEO Mary Bekhait went on to say that they had learnt "important new information" which "contradicted" what he had previously told them.

"As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect," she added.

The 61-year-old former This Morning star left his post just last week after a series of news articles speculating about a feud with his former co-host, Holly Willoughby. Rumours of behind the scenes problems between the pair surfaced soon after the conviction of his brother, Tim Schofield, for sexual activity with a minor.

In his statement regarding the newly revealed affair, Mr Schofield said he was "deeply sorry" for lying about the relationship to ITV, his colleagues, friends and agents.

He also said: "I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning."

"Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship."

"That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over."

The affair took place before Mr Schofield publicly came out as gay, and while he was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.Mr Schofield married his wife Stephanie in 1993 and came out as gay on This Morning in 2020.