Caroline Flack: what did Phillip Schofield say about ex-Love Island presenter in interview - when did she die?

In a new interview with BBC’s Amol Rajan, Phillip Schofield said that he has “lost everything” following the news of his affair with a younger male colleague, stating that the fallout of the revelations have been “relentless”. 

In his first interviews since leaving ITV and This Morning, Schofield said that if it wasn’t for his daughters, he “wouldn’t be here”, and drew comparisons between his situation and that of former Love Island host Caroline Flack, who took her life in 2020.  

What did Phillip Schofield say about Caroline Flack?

During his interview with Rajan, Schofield made reference to the late Love Island host Caroline Flack. He said he saw “nothing ahead” of him and he had to talk about his career in television “in the past tense”.

Responding to Rajan, who asked Schofield how he was, Schofield said: “I think I understand how Caroline Flack felt.” 

During the interview he said:: “It is relentless, and it is day after day, after day after day. If you don’t think that that is going to have the most catastrophic effect on someone’s mind… do you want me to die? Because that’s where I am.

“I have lost everything.”

Referring to Flack again, Schofield said: “How much do you want a man to take? And are you truly only happy when he’s dead? And this is how Caroline Flack felt, and it didn’t stop.”

What happened to Caroline Flack?

Flack was found dead in her flat in Stoke Newington, London, at the age of 40 on 15 February 2020. Following an inquest into her death and a coroners report, Flack’s death was ruled as a suicide. She had taken her life after learning that she was to be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting Lewis Burton, who was her boyfriend at the time. 

In December of 2019, Flack was arrested and charged with assault by beating after having a fight with Burton. Officers were called out to her flat in London, and the former Love Island host was taken into custody. Witnesses said at the time that there were six police cars present and one ambulance.

A spokesman for the Met Police said at the time: “Caroline Flack, 40, of Islington was charged on 13 December with assault by beating. This follows an incident at approximately 05:25hrs on Thursday, 12 December after reports of a man being assaulted.”

She was released on bail until 23 December 2019, which is when she was scheduled to appear at Highbury Magistrates’ Court. 

In court, Flack pleaded not guilty to assaulting Burton with a lamp. The alleged attack occurred after Flack found texts on Burton’s phone whilst he was sleeping which caused her to believe he had been cheating on her.

A section of the police incident report was read out in court, which stated that Flack had said “I did it, I whacked him round the head like that”, and had gestured with a swinging motion with her right hand to officers.

The court also heard that when Burton made the 999 call, he was “almost begging the operator to send help”. Upon arrival at the Islington flat, both Flack and Burton were found covered in blood, with an officer “likening the scene to a horror movie”, according to Prosecutor Katie Weiss.

Weiss said that Flack had been disruptive whilst in police custody and that she had to be “restrained on the ground”.

Flack’s solicitor Paul Morris told the court that Burton had “never supported” the prosecution’s case, and added: “He is not a victim, as he would say, he was a witness.”

Flack had then been released on bail once again on the condition that she not contact Burton directly or indirectly or visit his address. She was due to stand trial at the same court on 4 March 2020.

It was while she was waiting to stand trial that Flack was found dead in her London flat. 

A statement from her family said: “We can confirm that our Caroline passed away today, the 15th of February. We would ask that the press respect the privacy of the family at this difficult time and we would ask they make no attempt to contact us/or photograph us.”

Her funeral took place on 10 March in Greenacres Memorial Park.

Following her death, public scrutiny turned to social media networks and the British press.

Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper said: “The hounding of Caroline Flack shows that parts of the British media continue to wreak havoc on people’s lives.

“In Britain we have trial by courts and not trial by media for a reason. Regardless of what took place she should not have been hounded to death by tabloid newspapers desperate for clickbait.

“The government must stop dragging its feet in introducing independent self-regulation of online and offline publishers.”

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