Richard Madeley has called Phillip Schofield‘s sudden exit from This Morning ‘brutal’. 

Phil, 61, stepped down from his role as host after 21 years in May for having an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a young male runner. 

Richard, 67, who presented the daytime programme with wife Judy from 1988 until 2001, has waded into drama and revealed he has been in touch with Phillip following his resignation. 

‘I feel very sorry for Phillip – it seemed a pretty savage outcome after 21 years (in the job). It seemed quite brutal to be honest,’ Richard told The Sun. 

‘I took a paternal interest in it – I kept in touch, told him to take it easy and that it’ll be all right. He agreed. All things pass in the end.

‘It was pretty savage!’: Richard Madeley has called Phillip Schofield ‘s sudden exit from This Morning ‘brutal’

His say: Richard, 67, who presented the daytime programme with wife Judy from 1988 until 2001, has waded into drama (pictured in 2009) 

‘We’ve all been through terrible experiences and the worst ones are the phones that come out of a clear blue sky and you don’t see them coming, politicians say they’re only one debate away from a catastrophe and it’s the same in our industry.’ 

When asked if he would ever take up his seat on the sofa, Richard said he ‘enjoyed it but would never go back’. 

There has been speculation as to who will take over Phillip’s role of co-host at ITV’s flagship daytime programme. 

ITV bosses have been attempting to find Holly a more permanent sidekick, with Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary, Rylan Clarke and Josie Gibson also contending for the role.

But management are reportedly eyeing up Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard, who impressed when he stood in on the This Morning sofa last week.

Sources say Ben, 48, is ‘frontrunner’ to replace Phillip in the role after he stood in earlier this week.

Ben, who was previously a stand-in presenter on This Morning, covering for Schofield between 2005 and 2011 – impressed the network’s senior executives when he appeared on the show.

Initially This Morning was going to be built around Holly with rotating co-hosts, as GMB is with Susanna Reid, but now bosses have changed their minds and want someone they can team her with most days.

Resignation: Phil, 61, stepped down from his role as host after 21 years in May for having an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a young male runner (pictured with Holly Wiloughby)

A source told the Mail: ‘Ben did really well and the bosses loved his partnership with Holly and there was great feedback from many viewers.

‘Ben is known throughout ITV as being very popular with the audiences of whatever shows he hosts. He is also trusted by the public and is much loved within ITV. He has hosted so many shows for the channel.

‘He and Holly go back years too – he presented on This Morning some years ago and they have a great rapport.’

It was revealed last month that the This Morning scandal could be made into a ‘jaw-dropping’ drama series.

The production company behind the series thinks Channel 4 would be a ‘perfect fit’, a source told The Sun.

They said: ‘The storyline will reflect what went on. People have seen it from the outside but the drama will give a perspective on what may have occurred behind-closed-doors.’

The shamed star stepped down from presenting the daytime show after 21 years when he admitted he repeatedly lied to bosses about having an affair with a runner.

Phillip – who called the relationship ‘unwise, but not illegal’ – cheated on his wife Stephanie with the young male colleague.

The tryst was kept secret for years until he admitted to The Mail on Sunday he had lied about it having been just rumours.

He went on to confess he had misled his employer ITV, his colleagues, his friends and his then agents at the management firm YMU.

In an extraordinary series of interviews he apologised for all of the hurt he had caused.

It sparked an extraordinary domino effect for the show and ITV, with Holly having to issue a statement saying she knew nothing about it.

But Phillip insisted he had not ‘groomed’ the man, despite first meeting him when he was 15.

And he went on to declare: ‘Attraction is attraction. It’s no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.

‘There shouldn’t be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in.

‘We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school [he attended].’

In a hard-hitting emotional interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, Schofield said his two daughters – Molly, 29, and Ruby, 27 – had saved his life.

He said the fallout from his admission that he lied about his affair with a younger male colleague had been ‘relentless’, revealing he has had suicidal thoughts.

Schofield said: ‘My girls saved my life. They said 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. What is that like for daughters to have to go with something like that?

‘And 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 my future.’