Phillip Schofield reportedly in crisis talks with ITV over This Morning role following his brother’s sex case

This Morning host Phillip Schofield, 61, is reportedly in “crisis talks” with ITV over his future on the show following his brother’s sex case trial.

Schofield took time away from the daily morning show which he has presented since 2002, with Holly Willoughby joining as co-presenter in 2009. He took a break from the show last month ahead of his brother Timothy’s child sex abuse trial.

Phillip did not attend the case at Exeter Crown Court, but his written statement, in which he said that his brother had told him that he had watched pornography with the victim, was read out during the trial.

Timothy Schofield, 54, was found guilty by a jury majority of 10-2 on all 11 counts of sexual offences involving a child carried out between 2016 and 2019. He was remanded to custody and will be sentenced on 19 May. 

Following the conviction, Phillip said: “My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected. These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.”

How long has Phillip Schofield been away from This Morning?

Phillip Schofield has not appeared on This Morning for two weeks - the presenter had planned to return as soon as possible following his brother’s trial, which came to a close on 3 April, but he is not expected to return to the show until Monday 17 April.

During his time away from the programme, ITV have replaced him with a series of other guest hosts including Joel Dommett, Craig Doyle, Josie Gibson and extra appearances from This Morning regulars Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.

According to the Mirror, a source said: “YMU’s [Phillip’s agency] view was the sooner Phillip was back the better. But ITV offered him the chance to have more time off. They felt a longer break would benefit him as he has been in bits at points over the past few weeks.

"They were also keen to see how audiences responded to other presenters. ITV have a lot of talent and this was a good opportunity to test people out. It is possible in future there may be a presenting shakeup, and experiments like this are really helpful.”

Will Phillip Schofield be replaced on This Morning?

ITV denied that crisis talks have taken place and added that “We don’t comment on speculation around artists’ contracts.”

Phillip is believed to earn around £600,000-£700,000 per year for his presenting gig on the popular daytime show which airs on weekdays from 10am-12:30pm. He and Holly have been a popular duo on the series for years but over the last year there were calls for them to be sacked.

The ‘queue-gate’ scandal in which the pair appeared to jump the queue to visit the late Queen’s coffin in September last year caused uproar among This Morning viewers. The presenters said that they were there to report on the funeral and did not jump the queue.

Phillip’s contact comes up for renewal this year, so watch this space for updates on whether the presenter will remain on This Morning.