British TV presenter Phillip Schofield has admitted having an affair with a younger male ITV employee while he was still married.
The former This Morning host also revealed he is stepping down from his role as host of the British Soap Awards.
His admission came in a statement published in The Daily Mail.
Schofield (61) was dropped from presenting the daytime TV show last week and has also parted company with his agent.
It is understood that the man, who is not a public figure, did not want the relationship to be made public.
In his statement, Mr Schofield said he was "deeply sorry" for lying about the relationship to ITV, his colleagues, friends and agents.
He said: "I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.
"Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship.
"That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over."
Phillip and his former co-host Holly Willoughby. Picture by: ITVIn a statement, his former agents YMU Group, said "honesty and integrity" were core values of their business and that their relationships are "based entirely on trust".
Group CEO Mary Bekhait said that "important new information" about Mr Schofield had "contradicted" what he had previously told them.
"As a result, on Thursday we agreed to part company with Phillip, with immediate effect," she added.
The affair took place before Mr Schofield publicly came out as gay, and while he was still married to his wife Stephanie Lowe.
Mr Schofield's exit from This Morning came after weeks of rumours of a rift between him and his co-presenter Holly Willoughby.
Rumours of behind-the-scenes problems between the pair surfaced after his brother, Tim Schofield, was convicted of sexual activity with a child.
Mr Schofield, who married his wife Stephanie in 1993, came out as gay in 2020.
Additional reporting: IRN
