Lorraine Kelly has said fellow morning TV star Phillip Schofield has had a hard time after disclosing his affair with a younger male colleague.
Kelly (64) presents a weekly chat show on British TV that airs just before This Morning, which was hosted by Schofield and Holly Willoughby for more than a decade.
In May last year, Schofield resigned from ITV and was dropped by his talent agency after admitting to the “unwise, but not illegal” relationship.
Kelly told The Sunday Times Magazine: “I was heartbroken when all that happened. It’s just a shame for the amazing career that he’s had, for it to end like that.”
She called him “generous”, unlike some other male TV presenters, and said she thinks “everybody lost their minds a wee bit” during the media furore.
“He’s doing all right and he will be all right, but it’s hard,” she said.
She added that she finds the “whole culture of pile-ons very sad and quite depressing”, and that there are people in the entertainment industry who are “gleeful at seeing somebody’s downfall”.
Kelly also said she believes “there is a front page tabloid story” about everyone, including her.
Schofield told the Sun in June that he was afraid to leave the house and the fallout had had a “catastrophic effect” on his mind.
He also told the BBC’s Amol Rajan that his daughters had “guarded me and won’t let me out of their sight” amid fears for his mental health.
An external review by ITV published a report last year saying Schofield had “reluctantly declined” to take part because of “the risk to his health”.
It found that the broadcaster made “considerable efforts” to discover the truth about an alleged relationship between Schofield and a runner on This Morning in 2019 but was “unable to uncover the relevant evidence” until his admission in 2023.
Kelly also told The Sunday Times Magazine it is “just really lovely” that Willoughby is back on TV screens for Dancing On Ice after leaving This Morning last October.
Willoughby left the show after 14 years on the sofa, saying she made the “decision for me and my family”.
She continues to present Dancing On Ice, where she has been joined by Deal Or No Deal host Stephen Mulhern as a replacement for Schofield.
