Phillip Schofield opens up about how late father would have reacted to him coming out

TV presenter recalls asking mother if late father ‘would still be proud’ of him

Phillip Schofield has spoken about what his father would have made of him coming out as gay.

In February, the This Morning presenter released a statement on Instagram revealing that he is gay.

The television broadcaster wrote that his wife, Stephanie Lowe, and their two daughters, Ruby and Molly, had been supporting him while he had been “coming to terms with the fact that I am gay”.

Now, speaking on Chris Evans’ How To Wow podcast, the TV presenter said he had been thinking about how both of his parents would react to the news prior to telling them.

"When I went down to Cornwall when I told my mum, I said, 'What do you think dad would have said? Would he still be proud?" Schofield recalled.

“Thankfully she said, 'Yes… he'll think you're brave and he will always be proud of you.' So that is good.”

Schofield continued: "What he would say now? Well, it's a modern phrase, it's a recent hashtag, but my dad was one of the kindest, sweetest, most lovely people ever.

“So I think he would adopt the [#BeKind] hashtag and he would just say, 'Just make sure you're kind’.”

Schofields’ comments come after he revealed that he and Lowe currently have no plans to divorce.

“I'm still married to Steph," he confirmed last month. "There is a great deal of talk of divorce - we have not discussed that at all.”

The 58-year-old presenter continued: “With divorce...that has not been discussed. We are picking our way through and however that works and it's a work in progress. I am a work in progress. Steph is a work in progress.”

On Thursday 15 October, Schofield released his new autobiography Life’s What You Make It, in which he discusses his decision to speak publicly about his sexuality.

In the book, the presenter writes: “I had to come out. If I didn't, the secret was going to give me a total breakdown . . . at best,” according to OK magazine.

Schofield recalls one time when he was en route to ITV studios, when he heard a voice in his head that said: “You’re f***ing up everything and everyone and there’s no way to stop it.”