PHILLIP Schofield’s return to television has been branded as ‘sickenly desperate’ by Channel 5 viewers.
The broadcaster made a comeback to screens some 16 months after admitting to an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger This Morning crew member.
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Phil, 62, was sent to a remote island for 10 days as part of Channel 5’s Cast Away.
Before he secretly left London – by train before multiple flights to not arouse suspicion – viewers saw the star at home with his daughters Molly, Ruby and his wife Stephanie.
They appeared to mock Holly Willoughby’s message to This Morning viewers when she returned in the wake of Phil’s axing.
As he headed for Madagascar, Phillip received a supportive message from TV and movie star Joanna Lumley.
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Phil also broke down in tears as she spoke about discovering new things about himself in the wake of the scandal.
But for viewers at home, the scenes proved too much as they flocked to social media to comment.
One said: “Not watching a second of the sickeningly desperate attempt for #PhillipSchofield to garner sympathy for being a wrong ‘un. Imagine doing what he did and essentially having a video diary of your defence aired on TV. That his narcissism is being pandered to is grim.”
A second blasted: “Can’t believe a TV channel has given this guy a platform again.”
Some viewers supported the former ITV star, with one writing: “I think we can all now give this guy a break. His wife and daughters love him unconditionally. And if they’re on his side then so should everyone else be. Who the hell are we to judge ANYONE? I like Phil. Always have done always will. Well done fella.”
Another said: “I feel sorry for Phillip…. He has made a hash of everything but I don’t think he is a bad guy.”
In scenes set to air during the third and final episode, Phillip Schofield will say he was sacked by ITV because of the bad publicity caused by his paedophile brother’s crimes.
That contradicts the narrative created around the time of his departure in May last year, which suggested he had resigned after confessing to a fling with a younger runner.
He said: “I was becoming more of a story than the programme. And I agreed to say that I resigned because it would be neater for everybody. I was fired for the bad publicity for someone else’s crime.”
“I blew my own wheels off with everything else because I thought the only way to even begin to put this right for everybody is to do a full mea culpa.
“I came clean about my affair. What people don’t realise is I wasn’t fired from This Morning when I admitted lying… it was before, because of someone I used to call brother.”
Cast Away verdict
By Rod McPhee
OVER three nights – and three hour-long episodes – Phillip Schofield has been bearing his soul in new Channel 5 show Cast Away.
And it’s basically a chance for the former This Morning host to explain the circumstances that saw him leave the show last year.
To put it mildly, he left under something of a cloud, admitting he’d had a fling with a much younger runner on the programme. But in the C5 show he presents his own versions of events – one which is at odds with the narrative that emerged at the time.
He was portrayed as a man who’d had an “unwise” affair, who’d resigned as a result and had let many of his colleagues down.
But in Cast Away Philip insists he was fired by ITV and not for the affair, but because of the bad publicity that surrounded the crimes of his paedophile brother. He summed it up best when he claimed he’d been “pushed under a bus.”
After watching Cast Away what you’re left with is something rather confusing, however.
Did Philip think he’d done something wrong by having the fling with the runner, or not? For example, he said he wouldn’t have been slammed for it quite so much if it were a heterosexual fling.
He said he: “would have received a pat on the back for having an affair with a woman.” This infers that the only thing wrong with it was that it was a same sex fling. So why does he also say: “I will be forever sorry. I screwed up. I made a mistake.”
The answer, I suspect, is that the whole affair was a murky business. There were so many blurred lines around appropriateness, professionalism and honesty.
The only firm conclusion you can draw from the show is that Phillip himself isn’t ENTIRELY sure to what extent He was guilty of wrongdoing.
Amid the confusion, what will the viewing public think? I suspect that this will leave those who disliked Phillip to feel even more suspicious of him.
Those who backed him, will feel reassured too. But those who still aren’t sure what to think will be none-the-wiser – and I’m not sure if that’s what Phillip would have wanted.