Phillip Scofield has quit, ITV confirmed this morning.
ITV said the presenter had stepped back from ITV’s flagship morning show, after presenting his last episode on Thursday.
He stated that he was stepping down from the program because he “has become a story” and “I want to do what I can to protect the show I love”.
It comes as Scofield admitted that “things haven’t been easy” amid rumors of a recent rift with This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby.
The pair’s relationship is said to have come under strain after Scofield’s younger brother, Timothy, was convicted of multiple sex offenses involving a child last month.
Scofield, 61, shunned his brother following the verdict, but there is speculation that his friendship with his co-presenter – with whom he also presents ITV’s Dancing on Ice – has soured recently.