Alison Hammond, the host of This Morning, sobbed in front of the audience as she discussed the leaving of her former colleague Phillip Schofield.
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According to Schofield, his "career is over" as a result of his affair with a young male colleague, who he worked with at the BBC.
On Friday's show, Hammond said he had apologized and begged viewers not to be too critical of his behavior.
I obviously adored Phillip Schofield, so I'm just finding it incredibly sad," she remarked.
Furthermore, I still adore Phillip Schofield, so it's strange. But he has acknowledged that what he did was wrong and expressed regret for it.
But I never know what to say since we're all really battling to comprehend everything as a [TV] family.
However, I recall what my mother used to say: "Use your Bible as your Sat Nav in life Al," she said, adding that the Bible states, "He without sin, cast the first stone."
And because I'm plainly in conflict, I just don't want to say anything negative.
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After admitting to lying about the relationship with a male coworker, whom he first met at the age of 15, and who helped him get into the business, Schofield, 61, quit the ITV program last week.
The network has requested that a barrister oversee a review of how it handled the brief connection.
This week, Hammond and Dermot O'Leary have taken over as the show's hosts in place of Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
O'Leary acknowledged that "what Phil has done is wrong," but said that there should now be worries about his mental health given the extensive press coverage.
Schofield suggested that recent events had left him feeling suicidal in an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan while holding a small green vape. He also made a comparison between the media's treatment of both him and Caroline Flack.
The passing of former Love Island host Flack sparked an outpouring of sympathy as well as calls for it to change how celebrities are treated in the media and on social media.
After quitting the dating program after being accused of injuring her partner in December, she committed suicide in 2020.
Twitter users criticized Schofield's comparison as "distasteful" in several different threads.
'Hard for us,'
On This Morning, O'Leary stated: "As a society, quite rightly we talk about mental health all the time, but that can't be the preserve of people who are on the right side of history."
There is only so much a guy can take, continued Hammond. I also don't want anyone to die in this circumstance.
After coming out as gay in 2020, Schofield—who is married and has two kids—received an outpouring of love.
Gyles Brandreth, a recurring guest on This Morning, described the controversy around him as "a human story but with public implications."
The public implication, he continued, "relates to broadcasting and to workplace rules, regulations, and good behavior, [and] that is going to be dealt with by the review and we'll learn the consequences of that."
It is challenging for us since we are dealing with a person who we have all come to know and enjoy over a long period of time.
And frankly, all I'm saying is that the way people have responded to it has been rather out of proportion.
Richard Bacon, a fellow broadcaster, tweeted that it was "time to stop piling in on this human being" and offered his support. After confessing to using cocaine, the former Blue Peter host was fired from the program in 1998.
It was "time to stop this relentless persecution of a guy who's lost everything and looks right on the edge to me," according to former Good Morning Britain host and broadcaster Piers Morgan.
He doesn't appear to have broken any laws, and he is not a government minister.
Kelvin MacKenzie, a former Sun editor, disagreed with Schofield's assertion that criticism of his connection with a younger man in the media was homophobic.
He commented, "Don't agree." I suspect it would have been worse if he had met a girl when she was just 15 and set her up with a job when she was 18 before later turning the "friendship" into an affair.
Political journalist Bushra Shaikh remarked, "He's only sad because his dirty secret came out. Otherwise, he'd still be seated presenting on that sofa.
Don't think about his crocodile tears.
Two lives were destroyed;
Dame Carolyn McCall, the CEO of ITV, has been requested to answer questions from MPs regarding the situation at ITV and At the committee meeting this morning, June 14.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the leader of the Select Committee on Culture, Media, and Sport in Parliament, said Schofield's interview was "very hard to listen to" on BBC Radio 4's Today program.
She stated, "This is two lives blown apart by this incident."
"This will have a devastating effect on two careers, not to mention all the families and loved ones who will also be affected. It's incredibly challenging to listen to the interview.
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The public's reaction to his interview, according to Lauren Beeching, founder of the crisis management firm Honest London, "picked out certain parts that Phillip has said, and disagreed with and shared, pushing even more of a "witch hunt"," she told the BBC.
There isn't much that can be said at this time to help Phillip's predicament, but it's obvious that he felt the impulse to react to the hostility. I would have suggested that he keep quiet until the outrage in the community subsided.
She added, "I've worked with celebrities experiencing similar levels of public outrage, and in every instance, with time, the public backlash lessens," in response to Schofield's claim that his career was ended. At this point, Phillip can start to mend his reputation.
The interview, according to Simon Wadsworth, founder of the reputation management firm Igniyte, was a "good step" that could "help shift public opinion in his favor," he told the BBC. He added: "Phillip Schofield was right to come out with his side of the story, which must have been very tough. The interview will aid in balancing the story.
Additionally, he believed that the presenter's TV career was not gone, adding: "Right now, it might seem that way, but in the long run, no... No speaker is indispensable. He needs to get away from everything to regroup and reflect.
Hammond said that Holly Willoughby would be back on the couch to host This Morning on Monday alongside Josie Gibson at the conclusion of the Friday episode.
In response to the independent assessment of how it handled the relationship between Schofield and his colleague that was established earlier this week, ITV informed the BBC that it will not be making any additional statements.
Listen to Nicky Campbell's Voice of the UK on BBC Sounds for additional commentary on the Phillip Schofield interview.
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