A relationship between a former top host and a younger colleague was “deeply inappropriate,” ITV CEO Carolyn McCall told the British parliament on Wednesday. The topic was Phillip Schofield, who recently had to resign from his role as co-host of U.K. TV giant ITV’s morning show This Morning after lying about an affair with a much younger production assistant.
“The imbalance of power (between the two men) … makes it deeply inappropriate,” she said. Asked about comments from various people in recent weeks that many at ITV knew about the affair, McCall emphasized that there were indeed rumors, but noone ever delivered evidence of it to management. Asked about some people’s assertion that the relationship was widely known, she replied: “If they knew, why didn’t they say?”
The company went through a review, in which Schofield repeatedly denied an affair, but without evidence, it never started a formal investigation, the ITV CEO also explained. “Had we gone, with no legal reason, (into a full-blown probe) … we would have caused a huge amount of damage,” including psychological and mental health strains on the employees affected, she argued.
“We have taken these issues extremely seriously,” McCall emphasized, saying nobody turned a blind eye. “I have always treated people well” and put them at the center to make them happy to come to work, she said about her management approach at ITV and in her previous business career.
ITV recently launched an external review of its handling of the incident. McCall said at the time that the company felt “badly let down” by Schofield, who had repeatedly denied the affair, with the “extent of his deception” making an independent review necessary. Former hosts and editors of the show have criticized it for a toxic atmosphere.
In her appearance in front of the parliamentary committee on Wednesday, she said that “there will be lessons,” from the current review of ITV’s handling of the case. “No organization can do things perfectly, and we are not saying we have.” She vowed: “We will listen, we will learn, and we will act.”
ITV is paying for Schofield to have counselling, at his request, the CEO also said. And it is providing support for the younger staffer, saying she was “extremely concerned” about his wellbeing.
Asked about suggestions of a “toxic” work environment at This Morning, McCall said “it deeply disappoints me,” and she is taking the criticism seriously, but added that “we do not recognize this.” She cited two complaints in recent years that were looked into, and mentioned survey data showing that 86 percent of employees would recommend ITV’s daytime team as a great place to work.
The U.K. parliament’s House of Commons’ Culture, Media and Sports Committee had asked McCall to answer “questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling” in Wednesday’s session. “The committee regards the media industry’s duty of care towards its staff a matter of the highest importance,” it wrote in its invitation.
In a preview to Wednesday’s session, the committee wrote: “Since (Schofield’s) departure, wider reporting has alleged problems about the working culture across This Morning and other ITV productions. The cross-party committee will question the panel on ITV’s initial investigation into rumors regarding Mr. Schofield and the current review … Members of parliament will also investigate the working culture on This Morning and other productions, ITV’s use of NDAs and its whistleblowing policy. ITV’s approach to its duty of care, including support for those who have left the organization, will also be discussed.”
“I did something very wrong, and then I lied about it consistently,” Schofield, 61, acknowledged during a recent BBC interview that made headlines and waves in the country. Asked about concerns that he may have groomed the young colleague, Schofield highlighted that he understood worries that he had abused his position of power, but emphasized that it “didn’t feel like that at the time.” He also shared that he was “massively” concerned about the young man’s welfare, saying: “What he wants is for all this to go away.”
In May, the TV veteran had admitted to having a relationship with a young employee before he had publicly come out as gay in 2020 and separated from his wife. Schofield has said that the affair began after the young man turned 18, when the anchor was in his early 50s, calling it “consensual” and “unwise, but not illegal.”
McCall in a letter on May 31 unveiled the independent probe of the incident. “When rumors of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in late 2019/early 2020, ITV investigated,” she highlighted. “Both parties were questioned then and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumors, as did Phillip’s then-agency YMU. 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 rumor. Given the ongoing rumors, we continued to ask questions of both parties, who both continued to deny the rumors, including as recently as this month.”
The ITV CEO in the letter also emphasized: “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. We consider our approach was reasonable and proportionate at the time and in the circumstances. We believe that we did not have any grounds to mount any other sort of investigation.”
In her letter, McCall concluded: “I want to reassure you that as a producer and broadcaster, ITV takes its responsibilities around duty of care and speaking up seriously and has robust and well-established processes in place which allow anyone who works with us to raise concerns they may have anonymously.”
