ITV hits back at accusation 'vast majority knew' about Phillip Schofield affair and rebuts Eamonn Holmes' claims

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The boss of ITV has hit back at accusations that the 'vast majority knew' about Phillip Schofield's affair. The presenter stepped back as host of This Morning after rumours of a 'feud' between him and co-host Holly Willoughby behind the scenes hit the headlines.

Schofield, 61, then later stepped back from ITV altogether after he admitted to lying to Holly, his employers, and others about an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague., confessing that he concealed the truth about the romance.

On Wednesday (June 14), the chief executive of ITV Dame Carolyn McCall appeared before a parliamentary committee to answer questions about the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling after Schofield left as host of This Morning. Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link The 61-year-old has been facing questions from MPs alongside ITV managing director Kevin Lygo and general counsel and company secretary Kyla Mullins about the This Morning row during Wednesday morning's Culture, Media and Sport Committee session.

Committee Chair Dame Caroline Dinenage turned to Dame Carolyn, outlining how since the story of Schofield's affair emerged, there has been a 'common theme' among figures in the entertainment world claiming to have known about the affair, including Piers Morgan and James Haskell. "Do you class yourself in the category of the vast majority of people who seemed to know what was going on?" Dame Caroline Dinenage said to the ITV chief executive, asking whether she was claiming that "everyone else knew", except for her and Schofield's fellow This Morning star Holly.