PLATELL’S PEOPLE: Did we really need such a witch hunt against This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield?

Six months ago, the supposedly happily married Phillip Schofield resigned from This Morning after it was revealed to his millions of astonished viewers that he had been in a relationship with a much younger male colleague.

His co-presenter and close friend of decades, Holly Willoughby, was said to have been blindsided, shocked and betrayed. So, one imagines, were his wife Stephanie and their two daughters.

Headlines were understandably excoriating. Schofield, the lovable mid-morning TV presenter who’d fronted the show for more than 20 years, was sent to purgatory and pictures appeared of him dishevelled with his bereft elderly mum.

Such was the outrage from viewers amid allegations — I have to say mostly from disgruntled former This Morning employees — of a ‘toxic’ working environment on the show, that ITV decided to conduct an independent inquiry, headed by King’s Counsel Jane Mulcahy.

And now, after all this time, the KC’s report has landed. Having interviewed 48 This Morning employees, she concluded that none but one junior worker knew of the affair and that there was ‘no evidence’ of a ‘toxic’ working environment. Neither Schofield nor his lover agreed to take part in the probe. Schofield citing the ‘risk to his mental health’, the lover for reasons of privacy.

Phillip Schofield’s co-presenter and close friend of decades, Holly Willoughby, was said to have been blindsided, shocked and betrayed. So, one imagines, were his wife Stephanie and their two daughters. Pictured: Holly and Phil

Headlines were understandably excoriating. Schofield, the lovable mid-morning TV presenter who’d fronted the show for more than 20 years, was sent to purgatory and pictures appeared of him dishevelled with his bereft elderly mum

This week, the probe has been slammed as a ‘whitewash’ and utterly implausible. And yet I can’t help thinking, ‘How did it ever come to this? Can’t we please get a little perspective?’

A TV sofa bloke lies about his sexuality, has an affair with a younger colleague, nothing illegal takes place — and the whole world’s up in arms.

Yes, he behaved badly. But he’s paid the price. No one died, no one broke the law. And I rather admire his unnamed lover for not taking part in this circus. I wish him well and praise him for his dignity.

Personally, I can’t see why it ever actually merited an investigation by a KC. What worries me most is that this kind of thing sets a terrifying precedent for the increasingly litigious working environment we all now live in. Where anonymous employees can cast any allegations, false or otherwise, against named colleagues instead of settling legitimate grievances by taking them to their HR bosses.

Schofield’s complicated personal life has already taken a heavy toll on him. It is not necessary for a KC-led investigation to cast judgment on him as well.

Can’t we, in all decency, just move on from the This Morning inquiry and learn the lesson that if a person behaves unwisely and holds their hands up, he or she should not be condemned? Can’t we just let the millions of us who love This Morning go on enjoy watching it again, unsullied by this daytime tv bloodsport?

Ageing is no drama for Judi

Asked how she copes with getting older, the Oscar-winning Judi Dench, 89 today, says she just imagines she’s 56 and ‘doesn’t make a point of exercising’. Well done her!

And I do pity the paramedic who once attended her and asked: ‘Do we have a carer? What’s our name?’ only to receive her withering reply: ‘I’ve just done eight weeks at the Garrick Theatre.’

Oscar-winning Judi Dench, 89 today, says she just imagines she’s 56 and ‘doesn’t make a point of exercising’. Well done her!

The cash-strapped NHS is offering pregnant women £400 to stop smoking. Which makes me wonder — if they can’t quit the fags for the sake of their unborn child, are they actually fit to be mothers? 

My Ted would make a Swift exit! 

Though we’re devoted Swiftie superfans, my cat Ted’s admiration and my own for the brilliant billionaire songstress waned after seeing her on the cover of Time magazine as Person Of The Year with her furry friend Benjamin Button draped decoratively around her shoulders. Like a feline fashion accessory!

If Ted were Benjamin, he would have indignantly Shaken Her Off.

My cat Ted’s admiration and my own for the brilliant billionaire songstress waned after seeing her on the cover of Time magazine as Person Of The Year with her furry friend Benjamin Button draped decoratively around her shoulders. Like a feline fashion accessory!

Hugh Grant says he hated playing an Oompa Loompa in Wonka, but he ‘needed the money’. Revenge from director Paul King, who reveals that when casting the film he thought ‘the Oompa Loompas were so cruel, so I was thinking about someone who could be a real s*** and then thought — ah, Hugh!’. 

What justice is it when Amy Salter, owner of a 7st XL Bully dog that killed ten-year-old Jack Lis, has just been freed from jail, only 18 months into her three-year sentence? She should have got the full life sentence Jack’s parents will now endure. 

Kendall’s flaming cheek 

If there were an Oscar for the most fabulously sexy dress, Kendall Jenner would have won it appearing at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures annual gala in LA — sublimely simple, red and almost transparent. Think red clingfilm! But since she is famous only for appearing as, er, a Kardashian, in Keeping Up With The Kardashians, what bare-bottomed cheek that she was there at all. 

If there were an Oscar for the most fabulously sexy dress, Kendall Jenner would have won it appearing at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures annual gala in LA — sublimely simple, red and almost transparent

 If you want a laugh, tune into Channel 4’s The Couple Next Door. Supposedly the drama is a ‘mature exploration’ of bored suburban couples who have sex with their neighbours with disastrous results. My worry is that Eleanor Tomlinson, of Poldark fame, who fakes multiple orgasms like she’s being attacked by Jaws, will never work again.

After the death of his Peaky Blinders co-star and poet Benjamin Zephaniah, Cillian Murphy wrote: ‘Benjamin was a truly gifted and beautiful human being.’ Having met him several times as a panellist on Question Time, I concur. He was the sort of man who emitted kindness and just made you smile. 

Having met Benjamin Zephaniah several times as a panellist on Question Time, I concur. He was the sort of man who emitted kindness and just made you smile

Such a vengeful Auntie 

Time for the BBC to show some compassion after a report reveals that, of nearly 1,000 people prosecuted every week for not paying the licence fee, 70 per cent are female. They’re probably elderly women, often widows living alone whose only comfort is the Beeb. Not exactly the behaviour of a kindly Auntie. 

Westminster wars 

• The PM warns his MPs to ‘unite or die’. Lectures in loyalty from Rishi are a bit rich given he stabbed Boris Johnson in the back by quitting as Chancellor and triggering his downfall. And for what? To become even more unpopular than Liz Truss.

• The Covid Inquiry vowed it would not be a blame game attacking individuals but an independent investigation into lessons that could be learnt for the future. Well that fell apart on Wednesday and Thursday when Boris Johnson gave evidence.

I’m only surprised that they didn’t make Boris wear a dunce’s hat and sit facing the wall.

Millions of his fans, however, will see he handled himself with great dignity, humility and honesty.

The Covid Inquiry vowed it would not be a blame game attacking individuals but an independent investigation into lessons that could be learnt for the future. Well that fell apart on Wednesday and Thursday when Boris Johnson gave evidence

Harry’s gripe is not much cop 

Given that Megxit happened in 2020 when Harry and Meghan announced they had chosen to step down from royal duties, and given that he also admitted he’d previously thought: ‘I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here [in the UK],’ how does he have the brass neck to demand we pay for his elite police protection when the Sussexes visit Britain.

Doesn’t this soft lad realise that following their relentless attacks on the Royal Family, no one wants them here anyway?

A survey concludes professionals’ careers go through four phases — excitement, fear, stress and ultimately disappointment. The authors are from the woke University of Bath who’ve probably never known anything but cosseted academia their entire lives. As a professional of some 40 years, still doing the job I love, I say maybe they should get out of their ivory towers before belittling people who actually have to work for a living. 

How preposterous of a West Midlands council to erect a scraggy Christmas tree with a few puny lights claiming it is ‘sustainable’. What tosh. I already have two trees in my front garden, with fairy lights and lollipops which local children rejoice in pocketing. 

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