Phillip Schofield has said he is "not a groomer" as he gave his first interviews since he resigned from ITV over an affair with a much younger colleague.
The disgraced TV presenter said he is "utterly broken and ashamed" over the dalliance he had with the younger man, but denies grooming him.
He resigned from ITV last week and was dropped by his talent agency YMU after admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" relationship.
The 61-year-old presenter told The Sun in a filmed interview: "I did not, I did not (groom him).
"There are accusations of all sorts of things. It never came across that way because we'd become mates. I don't know about that."
Mr Schofield also revealed that he last messaged his long-time presenting partner Holly Willoughby as the scandal kicked off in recent weeks, but she has not replied.
He said he told her: "I know you can't reply, you're probably not allowed to, but please know that I am desperately, desperately sorry."
Schofield told The Sun that his first romantic encounter with the man occurred in 2017 in his dressing room at ITV.
"It was a consensual moment, it was mutual," he said. "It was not a love affair, it was not a relationship, we were not boyfriends; we were mates."
Schofield also said that his "greatest apology" was to his former lover, who has suffered the "greatest misery into his totally innocent life".
He added: "I am deeply sorry and I apologise to him because I should have known better... I will die sorry. I am so deeply mortified."
Schofield had reportedly first met the man when he was 15 years old, but said the affair did not begin until he was much older and had begun working at ITV.
He also said he thought it "looked shocking" when an old photograph, featuring both him and the man who would later become his lover, emerged online.
Schofield also told the newspaper he did not "lie to protect" his career, but the colleague "didn't want his name in public".
Schofield told The Sun his wife was "very, very angry" after he confessed to her, having previously denied the relationship.
He also said: "She got off a plane and I phoned her up and texted saying, 'I need to talk to you'. She called back and I told her."
Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, Schofield said he has "lost everything" in the wake of his affair. He also spoke of the criticism he has faced since saying: "Do you want me to die? Because that's where I am."
Schofield urged the media to leave his former lover "alone now".
"There is an innocent person here who didn't do anything wrong, who is vulnerable and probably feels like I do," he said.
"And I just have to say stop with him, ok with me, but stop with him. Leave him alone now."
It comes as Schofield's London flat, in which he allegedly conducted an affair with his ITV colleague, has apparently been put up for sale as brands who he partnered with have distanced themselves from him.
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