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Topics: Phillip Schofield
Stewart Perrie
Topics: Phillip Schofield
Phillip Schofield wants to set the record straight about the man he had an affair with.
The This Morning presenter has had a humungous fall from grace in recent weeks after leaving the ITV show he's co-hosted for years.
He recently admitted to having an affair with a younger man while he was married to his wife.
But Schofield has rejected accusations that he 'groomed' the man.
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In an interview with The Sun, the 61-year-old says he wants to clear up the rumours about the scandal.
“I did not, I did not [groom him]," he said.
“There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way (an abuse of power) because we’d become mates. I don’t know about that.
“But of course I understand that there will be a massive judgment, but bearing in mind, I have never exercised that anywhere else.
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“I assume somebody, somewhere, assumed something was going on, correctly, and didn’t say anything.
“At the time I did not think about it possibly ruining my career. I really probably only thought about it when I saw the rumour mill, and saw it growing."
He insists he didn't lie about the affair to 'protect' his career and certainly didn't want the UK media to be looking into the man's life.
However, he admits the lies 'grew bigger and bigger' and it got out of control.
Schofield says his biggest apology for the whole scandal goes to the man he had an affair with.
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“It has brought the greatest misery into his totally innocent life, his totally innocent family, his totally innocent friends. It has brought the greatest grief to them," he told The Sun.
“I haven’t spoken to him since this s**t show kicked off, but when this was all beginning to get out of control, I paid for his lawyers to independently work on his behalf.
“I am deeply sorry and I apologise to him because I should have known better. I should have acted the way I have always acted.
"I should not have done it."
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He says he will die being 'sorry' for all the hurt it has caused and that he is 'broken' and 'ashamed' by how it's all unfolded.
Schofield says there was never any hush money paid to the man and there was never a non-disclosure agreement that was signed to keep him quiet.