Phillip Schofield has denied that Holly Willoughby knew about his affair with a young colleague on This Morning and has also conceded that he has lost his "best friend".
The pair's 14-year presenting partnership on the daytime show came to an unceremonious end last month as Schofield admitted to lying about having a relationship with the man, who was aged in his 20s and worked as a runner on the programme.
Willoughby has been accused of knowing about the affair, which began in 2017 and ended roughly three years later, but Schofield has now launched a fierce defence of her role in the saga.
"I've lost my best friend. I let her down," he told The Sun. "I let that entire show down. I let the viewers down.
"Holly did not know. And she was one of the first texts that I sent, to say, 'I am so, so sorry that I lied to you'.
"She didn't reply and I understand why she didn't reply, as well. So yeah. If anyone is in any way linking Holly to this; that is absolutely, wholly untrue."
Schofield went on to reveal that issues with Willoughby began when she was blindsided by the news that his brother Timothy was facing trial for paedophilia.
"I had no feud with Holly. She is my TV sister," he continued. "But quite rightly, when I am in the middle of a shit show with bad press over something where I have done nothing wrong [with my brother] - in fact, I did everything right - it's a witch hunt. And that strips that [friendship] away.
"Quite rightly, she is going to take a step back and think, 'I have to step back from this', and I understand that completely.
"As we see now, this is a vicious game and the last thing you want is for something to stick on you. It was becoming bigger than the people we had on the show. I understand that."
As things stand Willoughby is due to return to This Morning after a half-term break next Monday, June 5.
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