Was Phillip Schofield’s mother behind his decision to confess affair? Star had heart-to-heart with 85-year-old while taking refuge in Cornwall just days before statement… with the grandmother now picking up the pieces from both her sons’ fall from grace
- READ MORE: Phillip Schofield ADMITS cheating on his wife with young man
Phillip Schofield’s sensational admission that he had an affair with a much younger male colleague came just days after the star had a heart-to-heart with his elderly mother.
Schofield, 61, was seen taking refuge in Cornwall last Saturday and confiding in Pat, 85, having fled to the seaside after news of his departure from the show became public.
The mother and son – who were seen speaking for two hours in a car park last weekend – are ‘extremely close and he would have listened intently to her opinion’, a source told The Sun.
Schofield has often been public in showing his affection for his parent, posting a selfie of the two of them at Blackpool Tower on Mother’s Day with the caption: ‘Through thick and thin she’s always there.’
Last night’s revelations capped off an immensely difficult few weeks for frail grandmother Mrs Schofield, who uses a walking aid, after she saw her younger son, Timothy, jailed for 12 years earlier this month for a string of child sex offences.
Phillip Schofield, 61, was seen in Cornwall last week confiding in his 85-year-old mother Pat, having fled to the county after news of his departure from This Morning became public
The mother and son are ‘extremely close and he would have listened intently to her opinion’, a source told The Sun
Last night’s revelations capped off an immensely difficult few weeks for grandmother Mrs Schofield, after her younger son, Timothy (pictured with Phillip), was jailed for 12 years earlier this month for a string of child sex offences
She has been widowed for 15 years, after her husband, Brian, died from a long-standing heart condition in May 2008.
It is not the first time Schofield has made the 300-mile trip to Cornwall from London to confide in his mother, having also made the trip to tell her he was coming out as gay, prior to his public announcement in early 2020.
He described her ‘instant acceptance’ as he revealed he was gay to This Morning audiences, saying she had told him she ‘didn’t care’ about his sexuality.
The former This Morning host said at the time he felt relieved to have made the revelation but admitted it had caused ‘pain and upset’ and that he had to have ‘heartbreaking conversations’ with his wife and daughters.
He has since stood down from the show, and pictures last week showed him looking downcast as he spoke to his mother amid the fallout.
Pictured after his exit statement on Saturday, the veteran presenter looked tired and serious as he sat with his mother in the front of the vehicle.
He appeared to be conducting tense phone conversations and was seen vaping and staring out at the sea as his body language appeared dejected.
Schofield has posted photos and anecdotes about his mother several times on social media, including during the Covid pandemic when he documented their reunion after being apart for a year in lockdown.
Phillip Schofield appeared downcast and glum as he made phone calls the day after he was forced out from presenting This Morning on Friday
Troubled TV presenter Phillip Schofield sits in his car next to his mother, 85, in Cornwall
‘Off to pick up my mum from the station!!’: Phil collected Pat from the train station where she was waiting with her bags after travelling from Cornwall in 2021
Schofield has often been public in showing his affection for his parent, posting a selfie of the two of them at Blackpool Tower on Mother’s Day with the caption: ‘Through thick and thin she’s always there’ (pictured together at a summer fete in 2008)
In a series of Instagram stories, the presenter told his followers: ‘Off to pick up my mum from the station!! First time I’ve seen her in a year.’
He then left his car and headed into the train station, where his mother was waiting with her bags after travelling from Cornwall.
‘Her majesty has arrived,’ joked Schofield to his followers alongside a picture of his mother waiting at the train station barriers in her protective face mask.
The pair then shared a long-awaited hug after 12 months of waiting to see each other.
In 2017, Schofield got teary after his mother, who was 81 at the time, was strapped to the outside of a plane for a daring wing-walk to celebrate her milestone birthday.
After watching her partake in the stunt, the presenter wiped away tears, while co-host Holly Willoughby gushed: ‘That’s your mum! When I grow up I want to be like her!’
Last night, Schofield revealed he had lied to his family and friends about an affair he had with a younger man who was working on his show and he met while in his teens.
In a bombshell statement to the Daily Mail, the veteran TV presenter admitted that he and the man began a relationship that was more than a friendship.
The shamed TV presenter described it as ‘unwise but not illegal’.
Close bond! In 2017, Phillip got teary after his mother, who was 81 at the time, was strapped to the outside of a plane for a daring wing-walk to celebrate her milestone birthday
What a woman! After watching Pat partake in the stunt, the presenter wiped away tears, while Holly gushed: ‘That’s your mum! When I grow up I want to be like her!’
It comes during what has been an extremely tough time for his mother, after her younger son, Timothy, was jailed for 12 years earlier this month for a string of child sex offences
Schofield further confessed that he lied to his employer ITV, to his colleagues, his friends and his agents at the management firm YMU.
The bombshell revelation is not the only agony his family have had to face in recent weeks, with Schofield’s brother, Timothy, now facing over a decade behind bars.
The conviction of the 54-year-old police IT technician for sexually abusing a teenage boy placed scrutiny on the relationship between the siblings.
Phillip told his brother’s trial that they did not have a close relationship because of their seven-year age gap and that he had left home when his brother was ten.
Phillip said following the jury’s verdict: ‘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. If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.
‘These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.’
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