Phillip Schofield’s two-decade career at ITV was “wiped out in three minutes” at the National Television Awards, it has been alleged.

In a damning assessment of a montage at the glamorous awards ceremony this week, a journalist has highlighted that Schofield’s “30-year” legacy with ITV was conspicuously absent, despite the inclusion of his former co-presenter, Holly Willoughby.

The ex-This Morning presenter suddenly departed the flagship ITV programme in May 2023 following his admission of an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague. He has remained away from public view ever since.

Schofield, who also presented Dancing on Ice with Willoughby, also revealed in a statement confirming his departure that the “consensual on-off relationship” was “now over”.

Apart from a short comeback to television with Channel 5’s Cast Away in 2024, Schofield has predominantly kept a low profile following the controversy, reports the Mirror.

But now one observer has suggested his three-decade ITV tenure has been “wiped clean” after his absence from a touching montage at the National Television Awards.

The Daily Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle wrote: “Phillip Schofield’s 20-year career at ITV was erased in three minutes at Wednesday’s National Television Awards.

“While his erstwhile This Morning partner Holly Willoughby featured, he was not mentioned in a montage showcasing 70 years of ITV’s stars. Not even a jokey, ‘Whatever happened to Phil whatsisname?!”

Schofield became best known for presenting This Morning from 2002-2023 and Dancing On Ice intermittently between 2006 and 2023. He stepped down after the controversy erupted in 2023.

In a statement to the Daily Mail during the scandal, Schofield revealed he “met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television” and apologised for deceiving his colleagues, bosses, the public and the media.

An ITV spokesperson expressed they were “deeply disappointed by the admissions of deceit” from the presenter, and confirmed they had cut ties with him, the BBC reported at the time.

The ITV spokesperson added: “The relationships we have with those we work with are based on trust.

“Phillip made assurances to us which he now acknowledges were untrue and we feel badly let down.”

Earlier this year, ITV decided to axe Dancing on Ice, which brought Willoughby’s 21-year stint as an ITV presenter to a close, having initially joined the broadcaster in 2004 on CITV’s Ministry of Mayhem.

She also pulled out of You Bet!, co-presented with Stephen Mulhern, citing scheduling clashes with her reportedly now-cancelled Netflix programme, Celebrity Bear Hunt, featuring renowned TV adventurer Bear Grylls.

In March, a source revealed: “It’s true there is nothing for Holly in the pipeline at the moment but that is unlikely to remain the case in the long-term. ITV has a long and happy history with Holly, our viewers love her, and she’s sure to be back soon.”

The Mirror has reached out to ITV for comment.