Morninggate - Daily Mail; ITV call in barrister to probe Schofield affair: Holly to be quizzed

Story from Daily Mail:

Phillip Schofield was today seen for the first time since he quit ITV nearly a week ago and admitted having an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a younger male colleague.

The former This Morning presenter was photographed being driven in London while sitting in the back seat of a car next to a woman believed to be his daughter Ruby.

Schofield's other daughter Molly - who is said to still be working for his former talent agency YMU - could not be seen in the car. His normal driver was in the front seat.

The presenter was spotted as it was revealed Holly Willoughby will be grilled by a top barrister over the scandal - and the show's past and present presenting teams may also be quizzed about what they knew about Schofield's affair, which he revealed last Friday.

Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary, Eamonn Holmes, Ruth Langsford and Dr Ranj Singh may all be asked to give statements to employment lawyer Jane Mulcahy KC.

An ITV spokesman told MailOnline: 'We would expect the KC to be able to ask to talk to anyone she considers relevant in order to conduct the review'.

In a humiliating climbdown after a crisis staff meeting, the broadcaster said it was bringing in a barrister to 'carry out an external review to establish the facts'.

The future of This Morning, which was jointly hosted by Schofield and Willoughby until he had to resign over an affair, is now uncertain as experts predicted that heads will roll.

ITV bosses, including Dame Carolyn McCall, have been under pressure to admit what they knew and when about the veteran presenter's fling with a much younger colleague.

They refused to answer questions from the Mail about the investigation they claimed to have carried out in 2020 and over whether a new probe would be opened.

Last night Dame Carolyn revealed ITV is supporting Schofield's young lover, who appears to have been working in a pub recently.

A source told The Sun: 'Holly, Alison and Ruth — who is still close with the young man — will all be quizzed, as well as others who worked on This Morning or Loose Women during the time of Phil's affair.

'No matter how big the celebrity, they will be asked to speak and provide evidence. Eamonn Holmes, who has been very vocal, will also be asked to provide evidence.

'No stone will be left unturned.'

Schofield, 61, resigned from ITV last Friday, having already stepped down from This Morning, and was dropped by his talent agency after admitting – in an extraordinary statement to the Daily Mail – to his 'unwise but not illegal' affair.

Dame Carolyn said in a letter last night that ITV had been supporting the young man.

She wrote: 'As you would imagine given the social media scrutiny of him, we have offered him our support throughout this period and indeed are still doing so'.

ITV chiefs will appear before the Commons culture committee on Tuesday to be grilled about This Morning's 'toxic' culture. And Schofield could himself be hauled before MPs at a later date, it emerged last night. 'It really depends on how things develop,' said a member of the committee. 'It's a decision for down the road after we establish the facts.'

In ITV's first concession of potential wrongdoing over the scandal, personnel chief David Osborn has informed staff of the review, hoping to quell growing discontent.

Under-fire chief executive Dame Carolyn sent an almost identical letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer, culture committee chairman Dame Caroline Dinenage and TV regulator Ofcom.

Dame Carolyn wrote: 'You will have seen the significant media coverage concerning Phillip Schofield. As you would expect we take the matter extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records over the weekend.' She said ITV investigated 'when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in late 2019/early 2020'.

Her letter went on: 'Both parties were questioned then and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours...

'In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on the This Morning and wider daytime team and were not provided with and did not find any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.

'Given the ongoing rumours, we continued to ask questions of both parties, who both continued to deny the rumours, including as recently as this month.'

But this week sources close to the former production assistant said he insisted he was never asked about the relationship by ITV.

Further questions emerged when Holmes, who presented the Friday edition of This Morning until 2021, claimed the young lover was ferried to work from Schofield's home in ITV taxis – after the assistant and Schofield enjoyed 'playtime Thursdays'.

Dame Carolyn's letter ended: 'We have now instructed Jane Mulcahy KC (Blackstone Chambers) to carry out an external review to establish the facts. She will review our records and talk to people involved. This work will also consider our relevant processes... and whether we need to change or strengthen any.'

Ms Mulcahy, 62, earlier this year represented the England and Wales Cricket Board as it brought a charge of alleged racism against former England captain Michael Vaughan, who was later cleared. She also acted for former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie in her successful equal pay fight.

News of the inquiry emerged after This Morning staff were called to a meeting yesterday at the show's White City offices by editor, Martin Frizell, and head of daytime, Emma Gormley.

Both returned from their holidays to attend. It is understood they tried to put minds at rest about the show's future.

Staff were quick to react to the probe, with some speculating it would ultimately see some senior management departing the channel. One said: 'It's about time this happened, all week nobody has said a word while the bosses were off on holiday. Now they have to answer some questions and lets hope they are not stupid enough to try to cover up what appears to be a cover up.'

This Morning's culture was said to be toxic by its former resident doctor Ranj Singh. He fears he was 'managed' off screen after raising concerns with bosses.

Dame Carolyn will not be answering questions from MPs and has instead dispatched her group strategic partnerships and distribution director, Martin Goswami. One ITV staff member said: 'What a terribly cowardly thing to do, why wouldn't Carolyn go and face this head on?'

Despite pressure for her to quit her £700,000-a-year job at This Morning, sources close to Ms Willoughby say she will continue to present it.