Phillip Schofield has no plans to return to the spotlight anytime soon, reports claim, with the former TV presenter said to be in a "bad place" since leaving his role on This Morning back in May.
Phillip, 61, resigned from the ITV daytime show after admitting to having an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a younger colleague and lying about it. His co-star Holly Willoughby, 42, then left the show in October.
While recent reports claim Phillip is set to make a return to broadcasting in 2024, these rumours have now been shut down by a friend of his, who says there is "no way" Phillip will be back in the public eye "for a very long time".
The pal also said Phillip has been in a "really bad place" since coming clean about his affair – which happened while he was married to wife Stephanie Lowe – and is "continuing to recover".
The source told The Mail on Sunday: "Phillip isn't returning anywhere, he has been in a really bad place since he decided to tell the truth and resign from his job. He has got himself into a cocoon and he is continuing to recover."
ITV finally released the findings of an external review into This Morning on 7 December, following the scandal involving Phillip. The 61 year old is said to be ready to "build a life" again following the investigation, which has been "hanging over his head".
"He has had the report hanging over his head for a long time," the friend continued. "It has been a thing of dread for him."
They added: "Now that's out of the way he can start to build a life of some kind but there is no way he will be in the public eye again for a very long time, if ever again."
The findings of ITV's external review into the ITV daytime show were released on Thursday, 7 December. A week after Phillip's confession in May, Jane Mulcahy KC was appointed by ITV to conduct an external review.
Phillip "reluctantly declined" to take part in an external review into the circumstances surrounding his departure from ITV because of "the risk to his health", a report says.
Jane Mulcahy KC added that she has been informed Schofield’s mental health has since deteriorated.
The report read: "ITV’s management made considerable efforts to determine the truth about an alleged relationship between PS (Schofield) and PX (the runner) following on from the publication of a story in The Sun newspaper in early December 2019.
"However, in the face of the denials of the individuals involved, ITV was unable to uncover the relevant evidence until PS’s admission in late May 2023."
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