PHILLIP Schofield breaks down in tears as he admits the This Morning scandal “absolutely destroyed” him in a first look at his big TV comeback.
The veteran broadcaster, 62, has swapped ITV for Channel 5 for his return to screens which will see him marooned on a desert island in Cast Away.
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Phillip Schofield breaks down in the trailer for his new three-part series
5Phillip marooned himself on a tropical islandCredit: Channel 5
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Phil was seen looking upbeat as he walked his dog todayCredit: Splash
In a dramatic trailer, Phillip says: “I’ve been cast away on a desert island completely on my own. All I have is camera gear, I can say whatever I want about whoever I want.
“It’s my chance to tell my side of my story. I know what I did was unwise, but is it enough to absolutely destroy someone?”
The former This Morning host walked away from ITV early last year after lying about an affair he had with a much younger male co-worker.
The scandal ended his friendship with longtime co-star Holly Willoughby and left his telly career in tatters.
In an exclusive tell-all interview with The Sun, Phillip apologised for his actions to his ex-wife Stephanie and to Holly, though it wasn’t enough to mend their fractured relationship.
As his voiceover plays in the new clip, Phillip can be seen raising a hand to his face as he cries on the deserted Madagascan island.
Across three hour long episodes filmed over a nine-night solo stay, Phillip will tell his story free from any outside interference.
Explaining his decision to sign with Channel 5, Phillip said: “This is most definitely a first for me and the only thing I felt compelled to do. It appealed to me on so many levels.
“I’ve recently had a lot of time to think about my life, what went right and what went wrong, but I’ve always had the safe arms of friends and family wrapped around me. This time it’s just me, no ‘phone, no comforts, no crew and only lip balm as a luxury.
“I’m looking forward to exploring the island, trying to tie knots to secure my shelter and foraging and fending for myself in the wild … with no help. Maybe I’ll be Robinson Crusoe, or maybe I’ll just be Tom Hank’s Wilson and quietly drift off into the wild blue yonder!!”
Channel 5 Commissioning Editor, Guy Davies, said: “This isn’t just a survival challenge, it’s chance for Phillip to look back over the last explosive 18 months of his life, and explore what happened.
“The audience will learn how he feels now about television and the future, as well as the past. And it will be Phillip Schofield as we have never seen him before – unguarded, emotional and brutally honest…”.
Phillip’s professional and personal life was turned upside down in recent years after a string of scandals.
His wife Stephanie – who shares two grown up children with Phillip – stood by him when he revealed in 2020 that he was gay in a dramatic statement on ITV.
At the time, she said: “We have had to face the most emotionally painful time in our 27 years of marriage.
“I love Phillip, as much today as I ever have, and always will.”
But she was left humiliated when it emerged Phillip’s affair took place during their marriage.
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For nine nights Phillip was isolated from societyCredit: Instagram
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The series was filmed entirely by Phillip and he’s promised to have said ‘what I want’Credit: Channel 5
Phillip previously said that the relationship with the younger man “was unwise, but not illegal” in a lengthy statement.
In the statement, he said: “I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.”
Schofield said the “consensual” relationship was “on-off” – with the pair meeting when he was a teenager.
He said: “It was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.
“When I chose to come out I did so entirely for my own wellbeing. Nobody ‘forced’ me out. Neither I nor anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever issued an injunction, super or otherwise, about my relationship with this colleague, he was never moved on or sacked by or because of me.
‘In an effort to protect my ex-colleague I haven’t been truthful about the relationship. But my recent, unrelated, departure from This Morning fuelled speculation and raised questions which have been impacting him, so for his sake it is important for me to be honest now.”
He has not appeared on TV since, until now.
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