Phillip Schofield 'won't watch Holly Willoughby's return to This Morning' - as friends of the shamed star say 'even listening to the opening credits would be hugely triggering' after being axed from the show

Friends of the TV host say despite not watching he wants her to 'shine' on screen

Phillip Schofield won’t tune in to watch his former ‘best friend’ and co-host Holly Willoughby return to the This Morning sofa on Monday morning, it is claimed.

The 61-year-old, who was axed by bosses at ITV after revelations he had lied about an affair with male colleague who worked behind the scenes, is set to avoid it as it will be too devastating.

Friends of the TV presenter have said even watching the opening credits could prove ‘hugely triggering’ for him as he comes to terms with leaving the show he has fronted since 2002.

Even though she is not speaking to him anymore following the fallout of the scandal, Schofield does support Holly and wants her to ‘shine and smash it’, insiders told The Sun.

When she returns to the sofa in the morning, after taking a short break from the show, Holly is expected to make an ‘honest personal statement’ about the scandal.

Phillip Schofield won’t watch Holly Willoughby’s return to the This Morning sofa on Monday after he was axed from the show. Pictured: The pair presenting the show in May

Big day: It comes as Holly prepares an ‘honest and personal statement’ to address the departure of her former co-star, who recently admitted he had lied about an affair with a younger male colleague, as she returns to the programme (pictured in Portugal this week)

Phillip Schofield was pictured embracing his mother Pat in Newquay, Cornwall, moments after being told bosses at ITV wanted him to leave This Morning

But there will be no return in the morning for Schofield, who was seen with his mother on Friday, May 19, as he was told he was no longer wanted by ITV.

Instead Holly will appear with Jose Gibson as co-host, and it is believed she is still deliberating whether or not to mention Schofield by name – although the mother-of-three is ‘determined to steer the show through these unprecedented times’.

The popular show has a loyal following, and despite being out of work, friends of Schofield say he won’t be watching in the morning.

A friend of the father-of-two told The Sun: ‘He physically could not watch – he’s not there yet.

‘Even listening to the opening credits would be hugely triggering.

‘His family is being incredibly careful not to have the TV on when he’s in the room to ensure he doesn’t see anything.

‘Of course he is aware Holly is back on air today and he absolutely wanted her to shine, and smash it.

‘But he physically could not watch – he is not there yet.’

Meanwhile, another source said Holly was bracing to do ‘one of the toughest things she has ever had to do in her television career’ by addressing the scandal on Monday morning.

‘Holly is naturally nervous about this and is being supported by This Morning,’ they said.

‘Speaking about Phil and what has happened is not going to be easy and emotions are running high.

‘The show is braced for tears and Holly is getting support from the team.

‘Everyone is rooting for her and knows this is incredibly difficult.’

Schofield has been supported by his family since his sacking, with photos emerging showing the moment he embraced his elderly mother after he was sacked from the show.

He was seen hugging his mother Pat, 87, on a bench overlooking the sea in Newquay, Cornwall, last month.

Schofield and his mother had driven from her home to their favourite fish and chip shop before heading out to Pentire Headland where they looked out over the sea.

The presenter, who had hosted This Morning since 2002, had been in the seaside town to support his mother as his brother, Timothy, was being sentenced for sex offences against a teenage boy.

The same day her youngest son was jailed for 12 years, Pat was told by her eldest child that he was losing his job.

While getting fish and chips with his mother, Phillip received a phone call from his manager telling him bosses at the channel wanted him to leave the show.

In an interview with the Sun last week, he said: ‘I had to go down to Cornwall to be with her for the sentencing.

The presenter, who had hosted This Morning since 2002, had been in the seaside town to support his mother as his brother, Timothy, was being sentenced for sex offences against a teenage boy

The TV presenter, who admitted to having an affair with a younger male colleague who worked behind the scenes on the show, was seen hugging his mother on Pentire Headland on May 19

Phillip, pictured here on This Morning with former co-host Holly Willoughby, had presented the programme since 2002

‘And our family thing was always to buy fish and chips and go and sit on the headland.

‘I picked my mum up and she went in to get the fish and chips — and while she was getting them, my phone rang.

‘It was my then manager saying, ‘Mate, I am so sorry, it has become too loud for ITV. You will have to step down from This Morning’.

‘And she arrived in the car. She said to me before I arrived, ‘You’re not coming down with any bad news are you?’.

‘She sat in the car and she was all happy to see me, and then she said, ‘Oh, your face has changed’.

I said, ‘Let’s go on to the headland’. And I had to tell her.’

The furore which has surrounded Schofield has threatened to engulf This Morning, with ITV getting set to introduce ‘heavy vetting’ of public callers to protect presenters from outbursts over the scandal.

Production staff will take on the important role of screening callers, as audience interaction segments are also to be paused to avoid any abuse being sent towards presenters.

It comes as Holly prepares an ‘honest and personal statement’ to address the departure of her former co-star, who recently admitted he had lied about an affair with a younger male colleague, as she returns to the programme on Monday.

Her return to the sofa, accompanied by former guest host Josie Gibson, will mark a permanent change to the line-up as viewers face an altered show, with fewer opportunities to feel included by live presenters.

The presenter first met the man, then aged 15, when he was invited to open a drama school

It was also reported today that Holly is being courted by BBC bosses as they look to lure her away from ITV.

And on the eve of her on-screen return she posted a cryptic message urging others to ‘maintain a positive perspective’.

Uploading a snap  of the ‘Strawberry Moon’ on her wellness page Wylde Moon page, the full post read: ‘This Full ‘Strawberry’ Moon in Sagittarius brings with it a zest for life.

‘The guiding influence of this fire sign combined with Jupiter encourages you to maintain a positive perspective and to tune into your finest qualities.

‘Inspire. Renew. Believe.’

Thoughts: The presenter, 42, posted a snap of the ‘Strawberry Moon’ on her wellness page Wylde Moon page alongside words urging others to ‘maintain a positive perspective’

In an interview last week Phillip said he believed his career was ‘over’ and he had ‘lost everything’ after admitting he had lied about his relationship with a man on the show.

‘I have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart,’ he told the BBC. ‘What am I going to do with my days? I see nothing ahead of me but blackness, sadness regret, remorse and guilt. I did something very wrong, and then I lied about it consistently.’

He said the criticism he’s faced since admitting the affair has had a ‘catastrophic effect’, adding: ‘Do you want me to die? Because that’s where I am. I have lost everything.’

In the interviews, Schofield, who was also dropped by his talent agency YMU after his admission to the Mail about the ‘unwise but not illegal relationship’, said he was ‘utterly broken and ashamed’.

Schofield told the BBC that the young man, who worked as a runner for a short period on This Morning, was 20 when he first had any kind of sexual contact with him.

He told The Sun they had become friends but in 2017 – three years before he came out as gay and separated from wife Stephanie Lowe after 27 years – ‘something happened that just changed it’.

There was ‘a consensual moment’ in Schofield’s dressing room after a show and ‘it was mutual’.

He said he did not have a ‘love affair’ with the man and that ‘it was not a relationship, we were not boyfriends, we were mates’.

He said ‘it wasn’t feelings’ he was getting but it was ‘more like mates: excitement’. He added: ‘I was really struggling with my sexuality at that time in the build up to what happened.’ The pair only had ‘five or six romantic encounters’ over a period of around six months.

He said they met at Schofield’s apartment in south-east London only once after he phoned the young man to invite him over for a beer.

He also denied using ITV money to pay for taxis for the man, saying: ‘I don’t have an ITV account.’

Schofield said he had ‘no excuse’ for what happened, ‘no one did anything wrong apart from me’ and ‘I was unprofessional, one time, in a 41-year career’.

He added that he and the young man ‘stupidly’ thought that ‘nobody knew’ about them.

Earlier this week, ITV said the man was 19 when he did work experience at This Morning in 2015, and 20 years old when he applied and secured a job as a runner on the show.

He later moved to Loose Women in 2019 and left ITV in 2021.

Schofield apologised to Holly Willoughby, who presented This Morning with him for 14 years, for lying about his secret relationship with his colleague (centre) and for tainting her public image

He said telling his wife Ms Lowe about his affair ‘was the most difficult conversation I’ve ever had to have with her’

Schofield apologised to Holly Willoughby, who presented This Morning with him for 14 years, for lying about his secret relationship and for tainting her public image.

‘I’ve lost my best friend. I let her down. I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down,’ he told The Sun. ‘Holly did not know [about the affair]. And she was one of the first texts that I sent to say, ‘I am so, so sorry that I lied to you.’

‘She didn’t reply and I understand why she didn’t reply. So if anyone is in any way linking Holly to this, that is absolutely, wholly untrue.’

He told the newspaper the pair have broken all contact, and said it was his paedophile brother’s imprisonment that made her distance herself from the friendship.

Describing Ms Willoughby, 42, as his ‘TV sister’, Schofield said he understood why she would think, ‘I have to step back from this’.

He told the BBC, when asked who on the This Morning team knew about his affair: ‘To my knowledge, I mean, somebody has to know something for there to be a rumour later on. I didn’t believe that anybody knew.’

The TV presenter has praised his daughters Molly, 29, and Ruby, 27, for ‘guarding him’ as he struggles to cope with the fall-out from the affair.

He told the BBC: ‘Last week if my daughters hadn’t been there then I wouldn’t be here. And they’ve guarded me and won’t let me out of their sight, it’s like a weird numbness.

‘I know that’s a selfish point of view. But you come to a point where you just think, how much are you supposed to take?’

He also said telling his wife Ms Lowe about his affair ‘was the most difficult conversation I’ve ever had to have with her’.

He added: ‘She is extremely disappointed because I lied to her as well.’