Phillip Schofield thanks fans for 'important' support as he urges others to open up

Phillip Schofield has thanked those who lent their support to him after he bravely came out as gay on Friday morning in a lengthy post to Instagram.

Taking to Instagram stories later on Friday, he told followers how he had read as many messages sent to him as possible, but that anyone else facing internal struggles should "talk to someone".

"You will never know how important your support has been today," he wrote. "I’ve read as much as I can. Please please, no matter your age or your thoughts TALK to someone.

Read more: Phillip Schofield coming out is 'massive moment' for him and for society - Stonewall

"Don’t let your head beat you and hopefully you’ll find out that your friends & family have a remarkable ability to surprise you with their love and understanding."

The 57-year-old finished the post with the hashtag "be kind" and included a rainbow and heart emoji in his message.

It has also been reported that his daughter Molly Schofield has voiced support for her father on her Instagram account, which is currently set to private.

Metro.co.uk reports that Molly posted a family photo which included both her parents and sister, writing alongside the image: "Love you always, so proud of you."

She then tagged her father's Instagram account in the post.

Yesterday, after Schofield made the post to his social media channel he was then on This Morning alongside Holly Willoughby where he candidly opened up about his sexuality.

He explained how speaking to others, including Willoughby, before his public coming-out had "brought [him] back from some dark places".

Schofield shared: "All you can be in your life is honest with yourself and I was getting to the point where I knew I wasn't honest with myself. I was getting to the point where I didn't like myself very much because I wasn't being honest with myself."

He has been married to wife Stephanie for 27 years and the pair share two daughters. In his statement, Schofield said his wife had been "incredible", describing her as the "kindest soul [he'd] ever met".

In his interview, he also explained how his mother had lovingly accepted his coming out after he went to visit her at her Cornwall home to tell her.

Pat, 83, went on to praise her son's bravery in an interview with The Mirror.

"Yes it was a shock, but nothing as a family that we can't support and applaud," she said.