Phillip Schofield has broken his silence on his TV return after announcing he will star in his own survival show.
The disgraced presenter has secretly filmed a special three part series for Channel 5, which required him to give up his home comforts for 10 days of soul-searching on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, which he described as his ‘story of survival’
It will be the first time Schofield has been on TV since leaving the ITV‘s This Morning in May 2023 after admitting to having a relationship with a much younger male colleague.
The scandal, which dominated the headlines for months, led to the breakdown of his friendship with co-presenter Holly Willoughby and ‘devastated’ his wife Steph. The couple separated in 2020 when Phillip came out as gay but had remained close until his betrayal was revealed.
Billed as ‘an authentic and intense physical and mental challenge’ Channel 5 have confirmed that Phillip was ‘left alone with only a handful of cameras to document his own experience.’
One clip from the show, released today, sees Schofield in tears telling the camera: ‘I know what I did was unwise, but is it enough to completely destroy someone?’
But while Schofield may hope the move will allow him to reconnect with viewers, the show has already been met with disdain by the public and TV critics alike, with some it a ‘disgrace’ and branding the former presenter ‘narcissistic’.
Phillip Schofield has broken his silence on his TV return. Posting on Instagram on Wednesday morning, the star shared photos promoting his Channel 5 show Cast Away
The presenter has secretly filmed Channel 5 special Cast Away, which required him to give up his home comforts for 10 days of soul-searching on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean
He told his followers: ‘Now you know how I spent my Summer! Alone for 10 days, no food, no water, no crew’
The series will air across three nights from Monday September 30 to Tuesday October 1, in three 60 minute installments.
It follows Phillip as he is cast away for ten days and nine nights on a remote, unpopulated island off the coast of Madagascar.
Viewers will see the axed presenter reflect on the emotional impact of his exile from mainstream TV after news of his affair with a 20-year old runner on This Morning came to light.
It’s understood that Schofield was given a handheld camera, body cameras and a sound pack before being left to record his emotional week-and-a-half long journey.
The TV comeback has been met with disdain by the public with one declaring: ‘If this is designed to make people feel sorry for him, it will backfire massively. People were just starting to forget, and now they are raking it all up again.’
One said: ‘There’s shameless. Totally shameless,’ while another added: ‘How tke [sic] f*** is Phillip Schofield getting a tv show? This is a disgrace.’
Scott Bryan added: ‘Quite shocked by that Phillip Schofield show but then I remembered that this is Channel 5 so hardly not surprising.’
TalkTV presenter branded the star as a ‘narcissist’, adding that she did not think he should be having anymore screen time. She said: ‘Is this not a chance for a narcissist to just have more me time on screen? I don’t want to know his story, I’m not interested in it.’
Schofield’s predecessor on This Morning, Eamonn Holmes, reacted to news of the new show while live on GBNews.
When former Home Office Minister Norman Baker sarcastically remarked ‘my heart bleeds’, Holmes let out a chuckle in a very telling reaction to the news.
Phillip Schofield is returning to mainstream TV after signing up for a new show – 16-months after his departure from This Morning
The presenter has secretly filmed Channel 5 special Cast Away, in which he lives on a tropical island in the Indian Ocean for 10 days
The TV comeback has been met with disdain by the public
In a statement to promote the series Phil 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, added: ‘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…’.
‘This solitary island existence presents an opportunity for Phillip to confront the challenges of total isolation, the forces of nature and provides the time to battle within his own mind as he explores his own controversial story.’
While Phillip was alone on the island for ten days, the production team were stationed 30 minutes offshore, and were told only to intervene in the event of an extreme emergency.
Phillip’s mental health and physical safety were monitored as the experience progressed.
A source told The Sun: ‘Over the past few months Phil has had quite a few offers for various things – but has steadfastly turned them all down.
‘This sort of challenge has always appealed to him though and after consulting with friends and family, he decided to go for it. It’s all been top secret, and has been an incredibly quick turnaround in order to keep the news quiet.
‘After 42 years on telly, Phillip has learnt from some great crews and teams on how to film and tell a story.’
Schofield will discuss his acrimonious departure from ITV and daytime show This Morning while fending for himself on the island, located off the coast of Madagascar
Viewers will see the axed presenter discuss the emotional impact of his exile from mainstream
The source added: ‘With 10 days to himself, no camera crews or production around, he shot some unbelievably raw footage – some of it makes for tough, emotional viewing.
‘But he wanted a chance to share his story, unedited and honest, and let viewers see another side to him.
‘Whilst this is a massive coup for Channel 5, and huge for Phillip, he’s in no rush to come back to TV full-time yet; he remains very bruised, and is just taking some time now to weigh things up before he makes any major decisions.’
It was May 2023 when the presenter admitted to having a relationship with a much younger male colleague on This Morning, and later lying about it.
He described their romance as ‘unwise but not illegal’ and explained it took place during his nearly 30-year marriage to Stephanie Lowe, with whom he is a parent to two children.
Schofield subsequently resigned from both This Morning and ITV and said that he was ‘so very sorry’ to Lowe for being unfaithful.
At the time, it was reported that Steph had been left ‘devastated’ by the revelation and angry that her husband had lied to her.
However, it was later revealed she is choosing not to file for divorce because she does not want him to ‘fall any further’ then he already has, and despite everything, ‘the love is still very much there.’
As well as the breakdown of his marriage, Schofield’s relationship with co-host Holly Willoughby faltered in the midst of the scandal, with the pair understood to be at loggerheads.
Schofield’s daughter Molly is now his publicist after she quit the talent agency that once represented her father.
The three-part series will air on Channel 5 from Monday evening and will be Schofield’s first TV work since leaving This Morning under a cloud in 2023
It was May 2023 when the presenter admitted to having a relationship with a much younger male colleague on This Morning, and later lying about it (pictured with co-host Holly Willoughby)
PR guru Mark Borkowski says his tepid return to the public eye has come after a year away to disappear and get himself together.
Calling him a rare talent, Borkowski said: ‘He’s testing the waters. But audiences are very forgiving.’
Schofield told the BBC in an emotional interview last June the affair had finished his career and revealed that the fallout had left him feeling suicidal.
He told how his two daughters – Molly and Ruby – had saved his life and had ‘guarded me and won’t let me out of their sight’.
He admitted during the sit-down interview with Amol Rajan denied he had groomed the younger colleague, before telling critics: ‘Do you want me to die? Because that’s where I am.’
Schofield also insisted he had not ‘groomed’ his young lover, despite first meeting him when he was 15.
He said: ‘Attraction is attraction. It’s no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.
‘There shouldn’t be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in. We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school [he attended].’
Schofield with his wife Stephanie Lowe and daughters Molly – who is now his publicist – and Ruby in London in 2018
He said the fallout from his admission that he lied about his affair with a younger male colleague had been ‘relentless’, revealing he has had suicidal thoughts.
Schofield said: ‘My girls saved my life. They said last week they haven’t left me for a moment. They’ve been by my side every moment because they’re scared to let me out of their sight. What is that like for daughters to have to go with something like that?
‘And they said to me, ‘don’t you dare do this on our watch. We’re supposed to be looking after you’. If my girls hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here, because I don’t see my future.’
Schofield also slammed ‘a handful of people’ with ‘persistently loud voices’ in a statement days after leaving This Morning – and rejected claims of a ‘toxic’ culture on the programme.
The daytime show was plunged into meltdown since revelations over Schofield’s relationship with a much younger man at ITV emerged with the channel losing millions of pounds in sponsorship deals and some guests refusing to appear on the sofa.
But speaking out on social media in May 2023, Schofield hit out at those ‘with a grudge against me’.
In a statement posted on his Instagram, the presenter said: ‘Now I no longer work on This Morning I am free to say this. I hope you have noticed that it’s the same handful of people with a grudge against me or the show who seem to have the loudest voice.
‘This Morning IS the best show to work on, with the best people. In all the years I worked there there was no toxicity. You can listen to those persistently loud voices if you like.
‘But the thousands of guests over the years, thousands of staff and crew, hundreds of presenters and contributors all know it, it IS a family of wonderful, talented, kind, hard, working people.’
Shamed TV presenter Schofield speaks to the BBC’s media editor Amol Rajan about his affair
Bosses at ITV published the much anticipated review into the scandal and allegations of toxic working culture in December. It was conducted by an independent lawyer, Jane Mulcahy KC.
One employee told the Mail of their ‘sheer bewilderment’ that only one junior worker was aware of the relationship.
The report found that ITV did not cover-up the relationship and that station bosses had made ‘considerable efforts’ to discover the truth in 2019 – four years before the affair broke.
The external review found that the channel was ‘unable to uncover the relevant evidence’ until Schofield’s own admission in May 2023, when he told the Mail that he had been having the relationship and later lied about it.
ITV bosses have said both Schofield and his former lover, a runner who has never been named, ‘repeatedly denied’ allegations of a relationship until the star dramatically quit ITV and formally apologised.
It added that only one person out of 48 interviewed – a junior employee – said they knew about the presenter’s relationship with a younger male former colleague before he revealed it in May.
Mulcahy revealed that Schofield refused to take part in the review into the circumstances surrounding the his departure because of ‘the risk to his health’. She added that she was informed that the host’s mental health had since deteriorated.
Schofield’s former colleague and lover also declined to participate in the report.
However, staff at ITV have been left cross, accusing the report of being a ‘waste of time’.
The findings did reveal that there was a culture of silence at the channel, saying that junior employees at ITV’s This Morning still fear that speaking out will damage their careers in the industry.
