Holly Willoughby ‘cooperating in the Phillip Schofield affair scandal inquiry’ as her pals insist ‘she has nothing to hide’

Holly Willoughby has reportedly spoken to the lawyer responsible for the independent inquiry into the Phillip Schofield scandal.

The This Morning presenter, 42, is said to have ‘fully complied and cooperated with everything the KC has asked of her’, reports The mirror.

ITV was in turmoil earlier this year after 61-year-old Philip admitted to having an ‘ill-advised but not illegal’ relationship with a much younger colleague, with the presenter eventually retiring from ITV altogether.

In the months surrounding the scandal, This Morning came under heavy criticism, with ITV staff questioned about exactly what they knew about the affair, leading to the broadcaster announcing that they would bring in Jane Mulcahy KC to ‘carry out an external inquiry’ to establish the facts’. .

And now it’s been reported that Holly played her part in the investigation, insisting she knew nothing about Phillip’s affair, while her friends claimed she had “nothing to hide.”

A source told The Mirror: ‘Holly was more than happy to do what was asked of her, explaining her point of view, and what she knew and what she didn’t know.’

MailOnline has reached out to representatives for Holly Willoughby for comment.

Jane Mulcahy KC has been brought in to lead the external review of the facts surrounding the scandal and is expected to publish her findings in September.

Holly is said to be one of the people who work at This Moring and helped Jane with her questions.

Meanwhile, senior ITV executives, including boss Kevin Lygo, have also been spoken to during the ongoing investigation.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival this week, the ITV director said: ‘She (Mulcahy) has spoken to everyone involved, they take your phone and look at every text you’ve ever sent, email, WhatsApp.

“So everything is available, lots of interviews, talking to everyone and I hope as soon as possible, but probably in September she’ll make that public.”

On how ITV is handling the duty of care, he added: ‘We take it, believe me, incredibly seriously.

“We have nothing to hide and if we can adapt and change our process to make it better, then we should continue to do so.”

ITV bosses were under pressure to admit what they knew and when about the veteran presenter’s affair with a much younger colleague. They previously declined to answer questions from the Mail about the investigation they claimed to have conducted in 2020 and whether a new investigation would be opened.

Earlier this year, in ITV’s first concession to possible wrongdoing following the scandal, chief of staff David Osborn informed staff of the review, hoping to quell growing discontent.

The beleaguered CEO Carolyn McCall sent an almost identical letter to culture minister Lucy Frazer, culture committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage and TV regulator Ofcom.

Dame Carolyn wrote: ‘You will have seen the considerable media coverage of Phillip Schofield. As you would expect, we are taking the matter extremely seriously and have been reviewing our own data this weekend.” She said ITV was investigating ‘when rumors of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an ITV employee first started circulating in late 2019/early 2020’.

Her letter continued: “Both parties were then questioned and categorically and repeatedly denied the rumors…

In addition, ITV spoke to a number of people who worked on the This Morning and wider daytime team who were given no information and found no evidence of a relationship beyond hearsay and rumor.

“Given the ongoing rumours, we continued to question both sides, who both continued to deny the rumours, even this month.”

But this week, sources close to the former production assistant said he insisted ITV never asked him about the relationship.

Further questions arose when Eamonn Holmes, who presented Friday’s edition of This Morning until 2021, claimed the young lover had been taken to work from Schofield’s home in ITV taxis – after the assistant and Schofield enjoyed ‘playtime on Thursday’.

Dame Carolyn’s letter concluded with these words: ‘We have now instructed Jane Mulcahy KC (Blackstone Chambers) to conduct an external investigation to establish the facts. She will review our records and talk to those involved. This work also looks at our relevant processes… and whether we need to change or strengthen them.”

Ms Mulcahy, 62, represented the England and Wales Cricket Board earlier this year when it brought charges of alleged racism against former England captain Michael Vaughan, who was later cleared. She also acted for former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie in her successful fight against equal pay.

In a statement to the Mail, Schofield admitted lying about a one-time relationship with the man, which took place while he was married to his wife, Stephanie Lowe, mother of his two adult daughters.

Dame Carolyn said in her letter that she would “set out some facts” after she said there was “a lot of inaccuracy in the reporting.”

The Mail on Sunday revealed that Schofield met his lover when he was 15 and that the presenter was in his late 40s, giving a talk to a theater school as a favor to a friend.

The relationship started after the would-be runner, who had turned 18, moved to London and started working on This Morning.