ITV ‘paid’ for Phillip Schofield’s young lover’s showreel where he tours This Morning set & interviews presenter
ITV “paid” for a show reel by Phillip Schofield’s toy boy – where he interviews his lover and tours the This Morning studio.
In the video the younger runner sits down with Phil on a sofa and asks what “we’ll both be doing’ in three years time”.
Phil, 61, quips: “Well, if I’m still getting away with it, I’ll be a happy man.”
In other segment the young man, now in his mid 20s, points to pictures of Phil and delivers a tongue-in-cheek line about “spotted dick” pudding.
But the Daily Mail report sources as saying the whole showreel – shot in 2015 – was “made and paid for by ITV”.
A senior ITV source said: “How many runners get access to the cameras, studio and main presenter? I’ll tell you how many: none.
“Of course it was all bought and paid for by ITV.
“This is quite extraordinary. It shows the extent of Schofield’s influence that he could make this happen for someone so junior.”
The footage was allegedly filmed by This Morning cameramen and even features the now crisis-engulfed show’s theme tune.
Phil, 61, was given his marching orders from This Morning last week after lying about the affair, which he described as “unwise but not illegal”.
The revelations saw the show catapulted into chaos – with Holly Willoughby’s future on This Morning now in doubt.
It comes as The Sun revealed Phil and his runner lover used a £1million flat next to ITV’s studios for “playtime”.
The loved-up pair would vanish “for hours” into the exclusive Helios Hotel adjacent to the White City studios in West London, a source said.
They added: “Phil and the runner were often seen leaving at around 3pm, two hours after filming on This Morning had ended.
“They would use the entrance through the hotel and stay for an hour or two. Phillip’s driver was always waiting for him outside.
“I asked one of the security guards why the driver was still here and he replied, ‘Well Phillip and that young runner are up in the apartment’.”
On Tuesday it emerged ITV bosses “paid off” Phil’s lover and had him moved to another ITV daytime show after he declared his love for Schofield at an awards ceremony in January 2020.
A source told the Daily Mail: “There have been numerous pay-offs at ITV and they have always had to be arranged and sanctioned by people of some seniority.”
Insiders at ITV said bosses at some level must have known about any payment as senior body have had to sign it off.
On Monday, former This Morning host Eamonn Holmes sensationally revealed that Phil would enjoy “playtime Thursdays” with his younger male lover.
Eamonn said Phil would take the runner back to another property he owned in London — and have ITV pay for a car to take his lover back to work on Friday when it was Phillip’s day off.
Eamonn, 63, said he recently found out the runner would arrive at the studio much earlier than he would — “delivered from Phillip’s home”.
In an explosive takedown, Holmes also blasted Phil a “hated narcissist”.
He also blasted “distant” Holly who he said “doesn’t care” that she doesn’t know the names of the This Morning crew.
He went on to demand Holly, 42, leave the daytime show immediately and never return.
A This Morning insider told The Sun: “It’s all out war.
“There is blood on the walls. All bets are off now and household stars cannot be held back.”