Phillip Schofield has thanked This Morning viewers for their support after his brother was convicted of sexually abusing a teenager.
The presenter had been absent from the ITV morning show since late March, during which time his brother, Timothy Schofield, was on trial.
Schofield gave evidence at his brother’s trial, and shared a statement on Instagram in which he disowned his sibling.
Appearing on This Morning on Monday (17 April) opposite Rochelle Humes, with regular co-host Holly Willoughby unwell, Schofield said: “It is lovely to be back.
“Thank you for your kind messages of support. It means a lot.”
Timothy was convicted of 11 sexual offences against a teenaged boy that occured between October 2016 and October 2019, two of which constituted sexual activity with a child.
At the trial, Phillip testified that his brother had confessed to a sexual encounter with the victim when he was of legal age. He told his brother to stop, and had no knowledge of a crime.
The boy alleged that Timothy began abusing him from the age of 13, telling jurors that he had been “emotionally blackmailed” and “forced” into sexual activity with the 54-year-old police IT technician.
In a message posted to Instagram after his brother’s conviction, he wrote: “My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.”
He continued: “If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family. These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.”
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call the NSPCC free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331.
