Avalon Boss Jon Thoday “Surprised” ITV Bosses Didn’t Know About Phillip Schofield Affair – Edinburgh TV Festival
23.08.2023 - 10:43
/ deadline.com
Avalon boss Jon Thoday has said he is “surprised” that ITV bosses weren’t aware of Phillip Schofield’s relationship with a much younger runner on This Morning.
Speaking during the Power of TV debate at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the boss of the Starstruck producer and Rose Matafeo agency said “it is management’s job to know what is going on.”
Schofield resigned in disgrace several weeks ago from the popular breakfast show and ITV CEO Carolyn McCall has since said “no evidence” of the affair was brought to her team, while more This Morning current and former staff have since approached a government committee with toxicity complaints. ITV has said it informally approached the younger runner and Schofield around a dozen times over the years about the affair rumors.
“If you run a business and someone is doing something wrong it’s unusual for [management] not to know about it,” said Thoday. “I’m surprised they didn’t [know about Schofield’s affair]. Maybe ITV is such a big business but I think in the end it’s management’s job to know what is going on.”
Sangita Myska, a former BBC news presenter, however, backed ITV. “Even if rumors reach ears how do you go about investigating and substantiating such a rumor?,” she considered.
But she went on to say the issues more generally are “not about the talent but about an abject failure of management in any given situation.” She said the #MeToo movement had been a “gamechanger” in terms of people coming forward with complaints.
Schofield was forced to resign in disgrace around the time ITV rapped James Martin after a bullying complaint on the TV chef’s latest show, while the BBC has been mired in scandal over the Huw Edwards affair, leading to broader questions around how presenters
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