As a result, a meeting was arranged between Mr Schofield, Ms Newton, Mr Taylor, Mr Hall, and Martin Frizell, Editor of This Morning.

Managers from Mr Schofield’s talent agency James Grant were aware of the unfolding drama and it is not known whether they had direct input into the meeting but, unusually, Ms Newton was compelled to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) before the discussions took place.

At the meeting, The Sun agreed to discontinue its investigations into Mr Schofield provided he gave them exclusive access in the days following his TV confession, upon which the NDA lapsed.

Byline Investigates understands that Mr Schofield’s agents at James Grant - known as YMU Group - and some executives at ITV, were unhappy with The Sun’s approach.

“Dan Wootton’s involvement has upset ITV as they have employed him regularly as a showbusiness pundit on Lorraine (another daytime show).

“That has given him access to inside industry information about Phillip Schofield, which he has then been instrumental in turning into a big news story for his other employer, Rupert Murdoch. There was a lot of anger over that.”

Another source told us: “James Grant (YMU Group) also represent Phillip Schofield’s This Morning co-host, Holly Willoughby and a list of big-name TV stars including Ant and Dec, Amanda Holden, Ben Shepherd, Davina McCall, Eamon Holmes and Emma Willis.

“Initially, while The Sun was saying it was armed with indisputable evidence to support its story, executives from YMU and the top of ITV reacted by threatening to withdraw access to their other stars if the paper pressed ahead with the story.

“But in the end, Phillip Schofield’s handlers at the agency decided to come to the table with The Sun as a means of protecting his reputation.

“The upshot was that a high-level negotiation happened with The Sun, in the presence of Phillip Schofield himself, to take control of the manner of publication.

“Following prolonged talks, it was agreed that Phillip Schofield would issue a personal statement on This Morning, and hold back other exclusive revelations and other details to be revealed in The Sun over a series of days.

Observers of Murdoch tabloid behaviour say the episode follows a tried and tested format, in which a celebrity is confronted with a story - possibly an incomplete one - in the hope they will confirm the allegation in return for favourable treatment.