Phillip Schofield: Dr Ranj defends himself after photo of himself with Phil’s ex-lover resurfaces
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Celebrity doctor Dr Ranj Singh has defended himself after being called a ‘hypocrite’ after a picture of him with Phillip Schofield’s former lover resurfaced. The resident doctor had worked on ITV’s This Morning alongside Phillip and Holly Willoughby since 2016.
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Hide AdThe latest statement came just days after he blasted ITV’s toxic culture amid the ongoing controversy surrounding claims that the channel’s bosses ‘covered up’ Phillip’s affair with a young showrunner while he was still married.
Dr Ranj, who left the ITV programme over a year ago, also shared his experience on the show and explained why he made the decision to leave the broadcaster. However, people soon came after him on Twitter and dug up a 2017 photo of him with the said ‘young man’ Phillip had an affair with.
Defending himself, he said: “Just some facts for those people deliberately misconstruing this picture: (Phil’s ex) and I worked together at This Morning. He was 21 when he took this picture at the studio (in 2017). And it was obviously taken as a joke.”
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Hide AdThe said picture was a selfie taken and posted by Dr Ranj on August 24, 2017 with a caption that says: “Just hanging out at the studio with the resident @thismorning stud (Phil’s ex’s tweethandle).”
Over the weekend, Dr Ranj took to social media to explain how he felt, after Schofield announced he was leaving This Morning before news broke of an affair he had with a younger colleague on the show. He said: “I didn’t know the truth about what was going on with Philip, but I do know the issues with TM go far beyond him.”
The NHS doctor featured on This Morning for 10 years and said he’d “thought long and hard about posting” the statement. The 43-year-old added he raised his concerns to ITV while he worked on the show.
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Hide AdHe said: “I even took my concerns directly to the top of ITV: the culture at This Morning had become toxic, no longer aligned with ITV values, and I felt like because I whistle-blew I was managed out.
“But as history and experience have taught us, things like bullying and discrimination are very hard to prove, particularly in hindsight and when the ‘people in power’ control the narrative. As we’ve seen, no review or investigation is foolproof.
“Still, I was assured that certain things were going to be addressed and changes made. I haven’t worked on the show since… and I’m not the only one who has spoken up or experienced something similar.”
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