The mother of the late ITV presenter Caroline Flack has given her thoughts on the ongoing scandal surrounding the former This Morning host Phillip Schofield, after the broadcaster said he understood “how [she] felt” amid “relentless” media criticism of his affair with a younger male colleague. Schofield quit the popular ITV daytime show in May, before releasing a statement in which he confirmed he had a “consensual on-off relationship” which was “unwise, but not illegal”. In his first broadcast interview since issuing these comments, carried out by the BBC’s media editor Amol Rajan, the broadcaster said he has “lost everything”. “My girls saved my life… Last week, they haven’t left me for a moment. They’ve been by my side every moment, because they’re scared to let me out of their sight," Schofield said. “They said to me, ‘don’t you dare do this on our watch. We’re supposed to be looking after you.’ “If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here, because I don’t see a future. And so how much do you want a man to take? “And this is how Caroline Flack felt, and it didn’t stop.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Flack quit ITV2’s reality show Love Island in December 2019 after facing an assault charge over an altercation with her boyfriend. She died by suicide two months later amid intense criticism online and in the press. Now, after Schofield referenced her daughter’s experience in his BBC interview, Caroline Flack’s mother Christine spoke to Newsnight and confirmed she does “feel worried for him” amid the “relentless” comments around the scandal. After presenter Victoria Derbyshire read Schofield’s remarks to Ms Flack, she replied: “That’s exactly how she felt. Everyday, she’d try and be a little bit stronger, which I imagine Phillip is, and you get more and more thrown at you. “He knew Caroline, and I must say when she died he was very upset, and I think he’s now realising even more what she went through. But until it happens to you, you feel sad, but you don’t understand.” Asked what her message to Schofield would be, Ms Flack added: “I hope they’ll get over this, and they will. They will. “Don’t do anything silly. You’ve got your daughters, you’ve got your friends.“ Ms Flack has since been commended online for her comments on social media. In his lengthy interview with the BBC, Schofield also said the fact the scandal has become “so massive” is “predominantly homophobic”, and that he is a “victim of hate”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Bet $5 on your best pick to win, cash $150 in bonus bets if you're right with this new-user offer from FanDuel. Read more to learn how you can claim your bonus offer in minutes today.

Taiwan will take part in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco this week, a rare opportunity for the self-governing island democracy of 23 million people and its high-tech economy to break the diplomatic embargo on it imposed by authoritarian China

'I find her to be the most beautiful woman,' said Paulson, 48, about girlfriend Holland, who recently turned 80

TL;DR: As of October 28, you can get your very own Ryori™ 8-inch chef knife

'Love Island USA' Season 5 winners Marco Donatelli and Hannah Wright went on a romantic date in the finale

Sign up for the India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi – an insider's guide to the emerging economic

Distraught families gathered at a mortuary in western Uganda on Sunday for any news of their loved ones after a militant attack left dozens of...

By Bart H. Meijer and Anthony Deutsch AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Dutch anti-EU far-right populist Geert Wilders, who has vowed to halt

Keeley and Roy have been on a rollercoaster, going from friends to lovers to being friends again. But are they 'just pals'?

Jonas Vingegaard was given the ultimate stamp of approval this week when cycling's all-time great Eddy Merckx described him as the...

This comes after it was confirmed that Conor McGregor re-entered the USADA testing pool