Dan Wootton’s Conflicting Accounts Over Phillip Schofield’s ‘Outing’

GB News presenter Dan Wootton gave conflicting accounts of his involvement in the ‘outing’ of former ITV star Phillip Schofield, Byline Times can reveal.

In now-deleted tweets from March 2020, uncovered by this newspaper, Wootton denied having “ever discussed Phil’s sexuality with ITV” before the veteran broadcaster came out live on air and in the pages of The Sun newspaper.

However, Wootton later admitted to having had a “critical call” in November 2019 with ITV’s group corporate affairs and communications director Paul Moore in which Schofield’s sexuality was central to the conversation.

Schofield quit ITV’s This Morning programme this May after admitting to an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague while married to wife Stephanie Lowe, with whom he has two daughters.

Following this, Wootton wrote in an article in his – now suspended – MailOnline column, saying: “I told ITV about Phillip Schofield’s affair with his young colleague in 2019 and urged them to investigate.”

The apparent discrepancy is significant because the public position of Wootton, who is gay, is that he would “never out someone or assist in it”.

Byline Times can now give details about Wootton’s role in Schofield’s decision to reveal his sexuality on air to This Morning’s viewers, before giving The Sun a further exclusive tell-all interview on his outcoming.

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‘This is Absolutely My Decision’

A source with knowledge of the matter told this newspaper: “Wootton had been approaching Schofield’s lover and that was what started the ball rolling. That led to a conversation between Wootton and Schofield; what they call a ‘front up’ in newspaper terms. The private matter of Phillip’s sexuality was the crux of it.”

Wootton also asked ITV about Schofield and the workplace culture at This Morning, preceding a deal between The Sun and the veteran presenter’s advisors in which he announced he was gay.

However, Wootton denies any involvement in Schofield’s coming out, writing on MailOnline on 27 May: “Contrary to incorrect and malicious internet rumours, I never once suggested that the solution was outing Phillip Schofield.”

In the same piece, Wootton described the 2019 conversation with Mr Moore, who was right-hand man to ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall.