Phillip Schofield's co-star and Medway doctor Ranj Singh has voiced his support for the presenter after he came out as gay this morning.

After 27 years of marriage to his wife Phillip revealed in a post on Instagram he was coming to terms with his sexuality before co-presenter Holly Willoughby read the statement to viewers live on ITV's This Morning.

Dr Ranj, from Chatham, has been tweeting his support for Phillip throughout the morning.

He said: "Coming to terms with & being your authentic self is never easy, especially in the public eye.

"What @Schofe has done is incredibly courageous, powerful & will help so many. I am beaming with pride for him.

"I’m even more proud of his family who seem so wonderful.#loveislove ❤️"

He added: "To those people who seem to have negative ideas about the news today...

"People who are LGBT+ are made to feel wrong & unwelcome from a young age. If they go on to make certain life choices, IT’S BECAUSE THE WORLD TELLS THEM THEY HAVE TO.

"They don’t try to deceive anyone ❤️"

Canterbury and Whitstable MP Rosie Duffield has also thrown her support behind him on social media.

She retweeted a statement from Mr Schofield, and wrote: "So much courage."

Phillip - married to Stephanie Lowe for almost three decades - wrote in the post shared on his Instagram story: "You never know what's going on in someone's seemingly perfect life, what issues they are struggling with, or the state of their wellbeing - and so you won't know what has been consuming me for the last few years.

"With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.

"This is something that has caused many heart-breaking conversations at home. I have been married to Steph for nearly 27 years, and we have two beautiful grown-up daughters, Molly and Ruby.

"My family have held me so close - they have tried to cheer me up, to smother me with kindness and love, despite their own confusion.

"Yet still I can't sleep and there have been some very dark moments."

After posting the statement, Phillip made an emotional appearance on This Morning and was interviewed by his co-host Holly Willoughby.

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