Former This Morning host Phillip Schofield paid his ex-lover a six-figure sum in a deal, it has been revealed. The arrangement mutually gags both from ever talking about their relationship.
The presenter’s former colleague, 34 years his junior, signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of the accord reached. It prevents him from talking about the scandal that brought the presenter’s decades-long TV career to an ignominious end last year. Schofield, 61, has been keeping a low profile since admitting to the affair and lying to his ITV employers in an extraordinary mea culpa last May.
A representative for Schofield confirmed a deal was signed last year, including payment to compensate the man for losses suffered, the Mail on Sunday reported. The man was just 15 when he met Schofield, who helped him land a job as a runner on This Morning at the age of 19.
A romantic relationship between the pair began when the man was 20, after which he moved to another ITV daytime show, Loose Women. He later left the channel with a separate payout.
Last night, a source said the payout was part of an agreement that also included an NDA preventing both men from talking about the scandal.
Speaking to the Sun last June, Schofield told of his struggles. He said: “You watch all these layers of you slide away and slide away and slide away.
“The things that were dear to you. But I deserve it. It’s my fault. I deserve it.” He also vowed never to use social media again.