ITV boss faces MPs today after Phillip Schofield scandal

ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall will face MPs today to answer questions over safeguarding and complaint handling after Phillip Schofield scandal

• The chief executive will be grilled by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee  

The boss of ITV will appear before MPs today to face questions over safeguarding and complaint handling after Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning.

Dame Carolyn McCall will be grilled by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the wake of the presenter’s departure after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague.

The chief executive wrote a letter to culture secretary Lucy Frazer, DCMS Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage and Ofcom’s chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes, to confirm ITV had instructed a barrister to carry out an external review of the facts after the scandal emerged.

Schofield’s relationship took place while the TV star was still married to wife Stephanie Lowe and before he came out publicly as gay.

The letter said ITV records show that ‘when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate’ both parties ‘denied’ it and this was reiterated ‘as recently as this month’.

Dame Carolyn McCall (pictured) will appear before a parliamentary committee today to face questions over Phillip Schofield’s exit from This Morning

Schofield (pictured during his BBC interview) was axed by ITV after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger male colleague

Schofield, pictured with the younger male colleague and This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby

Since Schofield’s resignation, This Morning has been plagued with allegations of ‘toxicity’.

The show’s former resident doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, hit out at a ‘toxic’ culture, saying he raised concerns about ‘bullying and discrimination’ two years ago when he worked there – and afterwards felt like he was ‘managed out’ for whistleblowing.

In her letter, Dame Carolyn said that an external review conducted following a complaint made by Dr Ranj found ‘no evidence of bullying or discrimination’.

Meanwhile Eamonn Holmes, who presented This Morning on Fridays with wife Ruth Langsford until 2020, accused Schofield of ‘toxicity’ in an interview with Dan Wootton on GB News.

Last week Magnus Brooke, group director of strategy, policy and regulation at ITV, was questioned about This Morning at a Culture, Media and Sport Committee hearing about the draft Media Bill.

Earlier in the session, committee chairwoman Dame Caroline said MPs would not be addressing the issues around former presenter Schofield leaving the show, with Dame Carolyn appearing in a separate session on Wednesday morning to face questions on the broadcaster’s approach to safeguarding and complaint handling.

Meanwhile, Dame Carolyn is facing further questions about investigations into the channel’s treatment of reality stars after a former X Factor contestant claimed the chief executive refused her request to launch a probe.

Rebecca Ferguson says Dame Carolyn fobbed her off to her deputy after the singer wrote to the broadcaster on March 11, 2021, asking it to look into the codes of conduct and post-show aftercare of programmes such as the X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and Love Island.

Ms Ferguson says she had spoken to numerous former ITV talents who shared their difficult experiences with her, and the letter came after three Love Island stars including host Caroline Flack had taken their own lives.

The singer, 36, also asked Dame Carolyn to investigate which management companies ITV placed the stars with after the shows.

But Dame Carolyn did not reply to the Liverpool-born singer’s request. Instead, nearly two weeks later, the broadcaster’s chief operating officer Sarah Clarke wrote to Ms Ferguson saying the channel would not launch any kind of inquiry.

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