Alert – ITV bosses furious over Phillip Schofield’s claim that he would have been treated differently if his affair was with a woman rather than a man

ITV bosses are furious at Phillip Schofield’s claim that he would have been treated differently if he had had an affair with a woman rather than a man.

The disgraced presenter who quit the channel after lying about his relationship with a much younger This Morning colleague said on his new reality series that he would have got a ‘pat on the back’ it wasn’t a homosexual relationship.

However, ITV insiders say is ‘totally untrue’ to suggest he would have been treated differently because it was a gay romance.

In his much-criticised television comeback on Channel 5 programme Cast Away, Schofield refers to himself as the ‘shamed, disgraced Philip Schofield, who had an affair’.

The 62-year-old said: ‘Strangely, I think another TV presenter or two might have done exactly the same thing. Difference is heterosexual. It’s not an unusual thing in the gay world for there to be a difference in age groups.’

ITV bosses are furious at Phillip Schofield ‘s claim that he would have been treated differently if he had had an affair with a woman rather than a man.

Phillip cheated on wife of over 20 years Stephanie Lowe with a much younger man

‘That’s not that unusual in the straight world, but if that had been the case with me and it had been a woman. Pat on the back. Well done, mate.’

Schofield said that he ‘has regrets’ and acknowledges he ‘got something wrong’ and ‘hurt the people’ around him.

‘I don’t know what price you’re supposed to pay and whether the price you’re paying is necessarily proportionate,’ he adds.

Hitting back, a source at the channel said: ‘It’s a stupid thing for Phil to say, and it is just not true. Phil lied to his colleagues, his bosses and his friends about it, it wouldn’t have mattered if it was a woman or a man.’

They add that Schofield is unlikely to work with the channel again despite his hints that he had been approached to appear on their reality show, I’m A Celeb. One source said: ‘He lied to us, it would be really, really difficult.’

ITV’s fury comes as Schofield also hints that he was fired from the network when in fact the first its chiefs learned of his departure was in statement to the Mail where he admitted the affair and said he left with immediate effect.

Sources at the broadcaster also say that he chose to step back from presenting This Morning a fortnight before following a fall out with his former co-star Holly Willoughby.

In the programme, which airs from Monday, Schofield takes aim at a trio of his former ITV colleagues, saying: ‘I think there are only three shits.’

The disgraced presenter who quit the channel after lying about his relationship with a much younger This Morning colleague said on his new reality series that he would have got a ‘pat on the back’ it wasn’t a homosexual relationship

However, ITV insiders say is ‘totally untrue’ to suggest he would have been treated differently because it was a gay romance

‘That’s not that unusual in the straight world, but if that had been the case with me and it had been a woman. Pat on the back. Well done, mate’

He pointed out that one was a ‘coward who never stepped up in queue gate,’ while another ‘is a coward because they never stepped up when I was being battered by that one journalist who thought I’d got them fired.’

The third, Schofield says ‘is just brand orientated. Not what you expect, not what you think you’re going to get.’

He also insisted that he has now quit television and doesn’t want to make a return despite filming the three-part show for Channel 5 which sees him having to survive alone in Madagascar.