Phillip Schofield has been dropped as an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust.
The former This Morning host, 61, has been embroiled in controversy since admitting he lied about an affair with a much younger man who worked as a runner on the show.
Schofield confessed to the affair last week and insisted it was ‘unwise but not illegal’ as he announced his resignation from ITV entirely, after having first left This Morning.
He first met the young man when he was 15 and says the relationship did not start until he was 18 and working on the show; the presenter was in his 50s at the time.
This Morning has been in chaos since the bombshell confession, with hosts stepping in to replace Schofield and former guests and presenters speaking out against the ‘toxicity’ on set.
Now Schofield has been dropped from the Prince’s Trust charity, founded by King Charles III.
A spokesperson said it was ‘no longer appropriate’ for the charity to work with the former presenter.
They said: ‘In light of Phillip’s recent admissions, we have agreed with him that it is no longer appropriate to work together.’
The Prince’s Trust is a charity which works with young people aged between 11 and 30 who are struggling with the likes of school or unemployment; it operates in over 20 countries across the world.
There are questions being raised as to what could happen to the flagship ITV daytime programme following the revelations about the affair between Schofield and the much younger man.
One of the creators of This Morning, Dianne Nelmes, was among those calling for it to end.
She told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme last week: ‘I don’t think there’s any question that ITV should axe This Morning now, and certainly not because of any of these events around Phillip.
‘The basic law of factual programming is the presenter is never bigger than the show and this show will survive.
‘And I think the lightning rod goes much deeper, that it’s time This Morning, in a very dignified way, just moved off and gave way to another new show.’
She added that in her opinion the show should run until July, and in September should return ‘with a completely new presenting team.’
Nelmes added that she would ‘get rid’ of Holly Willoughby and ‘all’ of the current presenters as ‘they’re going to continue to attract the wrong kind of tabloid interest.’
Phillip Schofield statement in full
'I am making this statement via the Daily Mail to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.
'The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
'Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
'When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody “forced” me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me. In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship.
'But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.
'I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.
'I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
'I will reflect on my very bad judgment in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it. To protect his privacy, I am not naming this individual and my deepest wish is that both he and his family can now move on with their lives free from further intrusion, and that this statement will enable them to do so.
'I ask the media now to respect their privacy. They have done nothing wrong, and I ask that their privacy should be respected.'
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