Philip Schofield interview on BBC News/iplayer now.

[JeandeServiette]

Anyone else watching?

I wasn't supposed to be up this early but what the heck.

I agree. Schofield is attempting to shift the responsibility onto others' shoulders - like so many abusers, "You made me do it!'

He won't do anything to himself out of shame or distress - though he might, or pretend to, in order to shift blame and get out of consequences. Or out of sheer rage that no-one will accept what he says.

Yes. And he’s even more of a lowlife now to have stooped so low.

A week ago it was announced Rolf Harris had died, no one said "be kind" in comments about him.

He states that he accepts the blame for the relationship happening but doesn't accept responsibility. His life was in turmoil and it came along at that exact point almost makes it sound like HE was seduced. Why they split up: also to do with drifting apart because he was (once again) in turmoil about his sexuality. Nothing to do with it dawning upon him that there was anything wrong with it.

He was also keen to accept that ITVs investigation was inadequate. His only genuine grief seems to be to do with the loss of his career and being number 1 in the dressing room and fawned over.

Loved the way he swiftly batted away a question about previous gay relationships as 'that wasn't that the interview was about'. No Phil this was about pretending it was your confused sexuality, a 'coming out' relationship isn't it.

He just seemed so fake from start to finish. Overegging the apologies, overegging the all my fault stuff. He has been exposed because someone has blabbed and yes there's a media backlash but as he's been in the business 40 years he should just acknowledge that is completely understandable shrug it off and move on. Book in for iacgmooh in Oct.

I'd put good money on more details of grooming appearing in the weekend papers. Do we think the young man was the only one?

I don't @UselessFecker - I have been wondering how many more victims there are out there.

He kept saying he followed 11000 people on Twitter but omitted to say how many of those were 15yrs when he first met them and had then gone on to get them work experience and jobs. If say he'd got another 500 teens jobs over the years and this was his only dalliance it would be a bit more believable.

Of course there are. immediately closing down the question about his other gay relationships and stating that this was his worst secret sounded like 'Nothing to see! Nothing to see!'
Liars will shift goalposts so that they can get away with as much as possible. There is no such thing as coming clean across the board.

If someone is suicidal, or caring for someone clearly suicidal, you get to a hospital or mental health clinic ASAP. You don't go on national tv and threaten people who are calling out your abusive behaviour with threats of suicide. That tactic is straight from the abusers' playbook.

He was also keen to close down the question about his shag pad. No secret passage linking to adjacent hotel. No taxis to collect MM on Friday mornings because 'presenters don't have taxi allowances'. If he is outed for more lies then he will start harping on about booking taxis or presenting NDAs being the responsibility of this or that person. Anyone apart from himself.

I still don't buy that Schofield first met the runner when the latter was 15. He was a mentor of his (close) friend's youth drama group but he only ever turned up the once? Hmm. Was the group photo published in 2011 actually taken in 2011? The video footage of him having a meal with the runner was from 2013, when the runner would have been either 16 or 17. So clearly they had been in physical contact in the intervening years.

ITV really needs to be scrutinised for its recruitment and employment processes in relation to this runner. The comments on here about people having sex to further their careers are like something from the mouth of Harvey Weinstein. What about the 50-something top television presenter offering a dream job to the (incredibly young-looking) teenager he's got designs on?

This is the crux.

He must get thousands of messages asking for work experience?

How is it up to him who gets extremely valuable TV broadcasting work experience?

There's a picture of Phillip with the theatre group, including the poor lad, when he is much younger than 15, so he definitely met him at least once before then.

Just seen a clip of Alison Hammond getting emotional and harping on about how upset and conflicted she is.
How can anyone feel “conflicted” about an abuser?
And Dermott O’Leary....they should both be distancing themselves from this shit show.
Although, if they knew about it, they are intrinsically part of it.

It's impossible to tell whether he's insincere or not - his default is cringingly fake so how could we possibly tell?

Totally and when you think back to Holly asking him during his coming out interview if there was anyone else and he outright said no there’s no one else. He will lie at the drop of a hat to make the narrative suit him

Rolf Harris sexually assaulted and was found guilty of sexual assaulting numerous under-age girls. This is not the same.

I just raised it as a talking point.

I don’t know the full ‘facts’ about what happened between PS and the young man.

i haven’t interpreted anything to suit a narrative or belief I may have.

I just watched Nicky Campbell this morning and thought it was a valid point…similar story, Liam Payne was a child when they met….got a job indirectly through her…indirectly because she was neither his category leader nor the main reason he came to fame.

Im not saying it’s you per-see just it’s a relevant point is all.

Im not happy with some of the vitriol on the thread from some. Who knows what was in either of their heads as the relationship came to pass, people who work closely, grow close! It happens, enough relationships are ruined because of Strictly come dancing!!

He says his daughters “haven’t left his side”
So they aren’t supporting their Mum - the person who was actually cheated on.

I don’t think that’s what this means! I suspect she knew about the affair since 3 years ago he came out! I also suspect that several people knew…no name’s mentioned, but for some reason he is protecting them 🤷‍♀️

I'm prepared to accept that there's an element of people assuming the worst purely because of the dramatic nature of ITV's, his agent's, and the The Prince's Trust's sudden disassociation with him.
It did seem slightly disproportionate to level of wrong-doing being admitted (although an abuse of power it obviously was even if not intentionally) and that makes people suspicious. But then today's culture takes a very binary, non-nuanced view of things and that would almost certainly have influenced ITV to react that way even if there was no more wrong doing than we are now aware of.

However, I'm still confused on the very recent history and I don't think this morning's BBC interview cleared any of that up. What was going on in the run up to this all coming out that was the reason for the supposed rift between him and Holly? Did she find out that there was truth in it and get upset with him for lying? That would make a lot of sense but without that being clarified some people will assume worse revelations are still looming.

He is repulsive !