Phillip Schofield says he is afraid to leave the house and fears being spat on in the street following the revelation of his affair with a younger male colleague.
The presenter resigned from ITV last week and was dropped by his talent agency, YMU, after admitting to having an “unwise, but not illegal” relationship with the man who he worked with on This Morning.
Schofield’s affair took place while the television star was still married to their wife Stephanie Lowe and before he came out publicly as gay.
He had denied having a relationship with a colleague when questioned by ITV about rumors in early 2020.
In an interview published on Friday evening, he told The Sun: “I do not know a time I will be able to walk out of the door.
“I don’t have any spirit.
“It won’t. Not now. Not this one.”
Schofield told the newspaper he had never previously been abused in the street but now fears being shouted at or spat on, saying: “Are they spitting on me because I had an affair at work and lied about it?”
“My friends tell me, ‘It will get better’.
“You watch all these layers of you slide away and slide away and slide away – the things that were dear to you.
“But I deserve it. It’s my fault. I deserve it.”
He added: “I am getting by hour by hour. I have got my girls and my friends.”
The 61-year-old said he had been hounded on Twitter and Instagram since the revelations and has now deleted all apps and silenced notifications, insisting he will never use social media again.
“Why would I ever, ever go back there?”, he told The Sun.ITV has launched an external review to establish the facts around the affair – after Schofield lied to the broadcaster, his colleagues, and wife about the relationship.
In other news – Songwriter Cynthia Weil dies at 82
Cynthia Weil, a Grammy-winning lyricist of notable range and endurance who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped write “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “On Broadway,” “Walking in the Rain” and dozens of other hits, has died at age 82.
Her death was confirmed Friday by Interdependence Public Relations, which represents Mann’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann. A spokesperson did not immediately have further details. Learn More
