ITV has instructed a barrister to carry out an external review of the facts following Phillip Schofield’s statement and departure from This Morning, chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall has said in a letter seen by the PA news agency.

In the letter, Dame Carolyn said the employee Phillip Schofield admitted to an affair with has been offered support throughout.

She said: “The ITV employee was aged 19 when he first did work experience at This Morning in 2015 and 20 years old when he applied and succeeded in securing a job as a runner on the show. He subsequently applied for and was successful in securing a promotion to Loose Women in 2019. He left ITV in 2021.

“As you would imagine given the social media scrutiny of him, we have offered him our support throughout this period and indeed are still doing so. The employee has made it clear that he does not wish to be named or identified in connection with this matter. We would be grateful if you would be mindful of this.

“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.

“We consider our approach was reasonable and proportionate at the time and in the circumstances. We believe that we did not have any grounds to mount any other sort of investigation.”

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