Phillip Schofield: Caroline Flack’s mum sends message to TV presenter as she slams ITV
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Caroline Flack’s mum has spoken out following the backlash targeted at Phillip Schofield after he admitted to having an affair with a younger ITV staff member. Christine has sent a message to the This Morning presenter telling him to “not do anything silly”, whilst also slamming ITV.
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Hide AdIn an interview with the BBC on Thursday (June 1) night, Schofield had compared himself to the late Caroline Flack, who took her own life in 2020 following media interest in a domestic violence case. Phillip said he felt “broken” and had “lost everything” after he admitted to his affair whilst married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.
Phillip Schofield said to the BBC: “If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here. Because I don’t see a future. How much do you want a man to take - and are you truly only happy when he’s dead? This is how Caroline Flack felt and it didn’t stop.” The BBC interview was then shared on This Morning on Friday which saw Alison Hammond break down in tears describing the interview as “really painful” to watch.
Christine Flack has since spoken to BBC’s Newsnight where she sent a message to the This Morning presenter. She said: “I hate the thought that Phillip and this young man are going through such an awful time. It’s bad enough when it’s in private, but when it’s in every single paper and first thing on the news. It’s just ridiculous. Wait to see what happens.
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Hide Ad“Let’s hope for the best. I send my regards to Phillip and the young lad, and hope they get over this. Don’t do anything silly. You’ve got your daughters, you’ve got your friends.” Chrisitine also added: “And I hope the young lad’s got someone as well, that they can talk to.”
Phillip Schofield was forced to stand down from presenting This Morning last month after admitting to the affair with his colleague. Schofield had presented the flagship ITV show for the past 20 years, joined by co-host Holly Willoughby since 2009.
Christine Flack then went on to slam ITV bosses. BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire asked the former Love Island presenter’s mum if the station had learnt anything since Caroline Flacks death, with Christine saying: “No. They haven’t learned anything. They treat them as commodities. I know it’s a lovely job and they earn money. But also the television stations earn money from them.
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Hide Ad“But they’re not commodities, they’re people and they’re employed. And if my employer didn’t take care of me, there’d be all hell to pay. And there’s not. They’re just sidelined, and they’re not protected. They could have someone speaking for him really, whether he did right or wrong. And even his agent and all his friends. It’s not a good look really.”
Christine Flack said she believes that Schofield has “safeguarded” the television station with how he handled the events over the last few weeks. She said: “In a way, he’s safeguarded them. He’s taken things on himself. I can’t imagine a group of people working that close that weren’t aware of something. Maybe they should have spoken to him more. I still think he should have been looked after, and as you say the young man as well.”
After Phillip’s revelation, ITV issued a statement, saying they felt “badly let down” by what happened. An ITV spokesperson said: “The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust. Phillip made assurances to us and his agency which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.
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Hide Ad“As a producer and broadcaster, ITV takes its responsibilities around Duty of Care seriously and has robust and well established processes in place to support the mental and physical health of employees and all those we work with.”
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