Phillip Schofield smiles as he goes into hotel with mystery man
October 4, 2023Phillip Schofield cracks a smile as he heads into hotel with a mystery man – as ITV sources claim Ben Shephard is ‘frontrunner’ to takeover as Holly Willoughby’s This Morning co-host
Phillip Schofield was seen cracking a smile as he entered a hotel with a mystery man on Wednesday.
The former This Morning host, 61, looked in high spirits as he entered the London establishment with an unknown male.
It comes amid speculation as to who will take over his role of co-host at ITV’s flagship daytime programme after he resigned for having an ‘unwise but not illegal’ relationship with a young male runner earlier this year.
ITV bosses have been attempting to find Ms Willoughby a more permanent sidekick, with Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary, Rylan Clarke and Josie Gibson also contending for the role.
But management are reportedly eyeing up Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard, who impressed when he stood in on the This Morning sofa last week.
Phillip Schofield was seen cracking a smile as he entered a hotel with a mystery man on Wednesday
ITV bosses are reportedly eyeing up Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard, who impressed when he stood in on the This Morning sofa last week
Sources say Mr Shephard, 48, is ‘frontrunner’ to replace Schofield in the role after he stood in earlier this week.
READ MORE HERE: Ben Shephard is set to replace Phillip Schofield as Holly Willoughby’s partner on This Morning
Shephard, 48 – who was previously a stand-in presenter on This Morning, covering for Schofield between 2005 and 2011 – impressed the network’s senior executives when he appeared on the show.
Initially This Morning was going to be built around Ms Willoughby, 42, with rotating co-hosts, as GMB is with Susanna Reid, but now bosses have changed their minds and want someone they can team her with most days.
A source told the Mail: ‘Ben did really well and the bosses loved his partnership with Holly and there was great feedback from many viewers.
‘Ben is known throughout ITV as being very popular with the audiences of whatever shows he hosts. He is also trusted by the public and is much loved within ITV. He has hosted so many shows for the channel.
‘He and Holly go back years too – he presented on This Morning some years ago and they have a great rapport.’
It was revealed last month that the Phillip Schofield This Morning scandal could be made into a ‘jaw-dropping’ drama series.
The production company behind the series thinks Channel 4 would be a ‘perfect fit’, a source told The Sun.
They said: ‘The storyline will reflect what went on. People have seen it from the outside but the drama will give a perspective on what may have occurred behind-closed-doors.’
The former This Morning host, 61, looked in high spirits as he entered the London establishment with an unknown male.
Ben Shephard presenting Good Morning Britain this week after a short stint filling in on the This Morning sofa. Sources have suggested it could be a permanent move
Shephard, 48 – who was previously a stand-in presenter on This Morning, covering for Schofield between 2005 and 2011 – impressed the network’s senior executives when he appeared on the show. Pictured: Ben Shephard and Holly Willoughby on This Morning on September 26
The shamed star stepped down from presenting the daytime show after 21 years when he admitted he repeatedly lied to bosses about having an affair with a runner.
Phillip – who called the relationship ‘unwise, but not illegal’ – cheated on his wife Stephanie with the young male colleague.
The tryst was kept secret for years until he admitted to The Mail on Sunday he had lied about it having been just rumours.
READ MORE HERE: Phillip Schofield appears glum while leaving West London pub – as he unfollows ‘ex-BFF’ Holly Willoughby on Instagram and she prepares for first National Television Awards without him
He went on to confess he had misled his employer ITV, his colleagues, his friends and his then agents at the management firm YMU.
In an extraordinary series of mea culpa interviews he apologised for all of the hurt he had caused.
It sparked an extraordinary domino effect for the show and ITV, with Willoughby having to issue a statement saying she knew nothing about it.
But Schofield insisted he had not ‘groomed’ the man, despite first meeting him when he was 15.
And he went on to declare: ‘Attraction is attraction. It’s no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.
‘There shouldn’t be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in.
‘We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school [he attended].’
In a hard-hitting emotional interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, Schofield said his two daughters – Molly, 29, and Ruby, 27 – had saved his life.
He said the fallout from his admission that he lied about his affair with a younger male colleague had been ‘relentless’, revealing he has had suicidal thoughts.
Schofield said: ‘My girls saved my life. They said last week they haven’t left me for a moment. They’ve been by my side every moment because they’re scared to let me out of their sight. What is that like for daughters to have to go with something like that?
‘And they said to me, ‘don’t you dare do this on our watch. We’re supposed to be looking after you’. If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here, because I don’t see my future.’
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