Phillip Schofield dropped as ambassador for The Prince’s Trust charity

The Prince’s Trust has dropped Phillip Schofield as an ambassador after his admission of an affair with a younger colleague at ITV.

The charity, founded by the King, said it was “no longer appropriate” for it to work with the presenter, who left This Morning last week after two decades as host.

A Prince’s Trust spokesperson said: “In light of Phillip’s recent admissions, we have agreed with him that it is no longer appropriate to work together."

The 61-year-old resigned from ITV on Friday and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with the man.

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

The resignation came after weeks of speculation over a feud with former co-host Holly Willoughby.

Following Schofield’s resignation, some former This Morning employees have come out to criticise the atmosphere on the show.

The show’s former resident doctor, Dr Ranj Singh, hit out at what he called the daytime show’s “toxic” culture.

When This Morning aired on Monday, hosts Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond and contributor Gyles Brandreth appeared to defend the show from the toxicity allegations.

O’Leary said: “We all know we happen to be in the news at the moment and of course we appreciate that, but just from both of us, the whole team here, the crew, the guys downstairs, we love making this show for all of you."

Hammond added: “We really do and that’s exactly what we are going to do, we are going to continue to do that."

On Saturday, ITV said it had investigated the rumours of the relationship in early 2020, but Schofield “categorically” denied it was true.

“Further to our statement last night, ITV can confirm that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in early 2020 ITV investigated,” a spokesperson for the broadcaster said.

“Both parties were questioned and both categorically and repeatedly denied the rumours as did Phillip’s then agency YMU.

“In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on This Morning and were not provided with, and did not find, any evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumour.

“Phillip’s statement yesterday reveals that he lied to people at ITV, from senior management to fellow presenters, to YMU, to the media and to others over this relationship.”

In an Instagram post earlier on Monday, Schofield also hit back at the critics, saying that there was “no toxicity” on This Morning.

He added: “I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.”