ITV stands by one of its most popular anchors after he controversially stepped down from daytime show “This Morning” on Saturday.
ITV’s head of entertainment Kevin Lygo confirmed that the network has teamed up with Phillip Schofield on a new prime time series and the British Soap Awards, which Schofield will host next month and will be broadcast by ITV.
In a statement, Lygo said: “Phillip is without a doubt one of the best broadcasters of his generation and we thank him for his two decades of absolutely amazing television on the ‘This Morning’ bench. We look forward to continuing our relationship with Phillip starting with the British Soap Awards in June and a brand new peak time series coming up.”
Schofield, who has worked on “This Morning” since 2002, confirmed he would be leaving the show on Saturday after rumors mounted in recent weeks that he had been feuding with his long-running co-anchor Holly Willoughby. His last episode aired on Thursday.
It is believed that Willoughby will remain in the magazine format on the show, though there is no confirmation on who will join her on Monday morning’s famed “This Morning” couch or who will replace Schofield long-term. The front runner is believed to be ‘This Morning’ special correspondent Alison Hammond.
It was Schofield who reportedly first persuaded ITV bosses to hire Willoughby as his co-anchor in 2009 after the duo began working together in 2006 as hosts of the famous skating competition “Dancing on Ice”. Neither Schofield, Willoughby nor ITV have commented publicly whether the former friends will return to host this year’s competition if it continues as usual over the winter months.
Despite ITV’s claims that it was behind Schofield, the TV presenter suggested it was not his choice to leave “This Morning”. In a statement confirming he was leaving, he wrote: “I understand ITV have decided that the current situation cannot continue […] So I’ve agreed to step down from ‘This Morning’ effective immediately.