Phillip Schofield is preparing to make a grand television return after a 16-month absence – and there is one topic viewers will hope he touches on.
The former This Morning presenter, 62, has secretly filmed Channel 5 series 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.
Phillip told fans on Instagram on Wednesday that his episodes will begin airing on Monday – and they expect to hear his warts and all reflections on the last few years.
Since 1993, Phillip has been married to Stephanie Lowe, and the pair share two daughters: Molly, 31, and Ruby, 28.
In 2020, Phillip came out as gay, shocking the country. However, he and Stephanie stayed married – albeit separating later that year.
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Phillip Schofield, 62, is preparing to make a grand television return after a 16-month absence – and there is one topic viewers will hope he touches on
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The former This Morning presenter secretly filmed Channel 5 series Cast Away, which required him to give up his home comforts for 10 days of soul-searching on a tropical island
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Phillip told fans on Instagram on Wednesday that his episodes will begin airing on Monday – and they expect to hear his warts and all reflections on the last few years
Stephanie poignantly told The Sun at the time: ‘I will still be there, holding his hand. Everyone should be proud to live their own truth.
‘Our family have also been so supportive and will help us going forward. Although this is difficult for us all, I support Phillip in taking this brave step.’
But, Stephanie’s world came crashing down when, in May 2023, it finally became public knowledge that Phillip had conducted a years-long affair with a much-younger male ITV colleague.
Phil and Stephanie have reportedly never legally divorced with sources close to the couple saying previously that she ‘still loves him’ deeply and will always remain in his ‘support system’ with their daughters Molly and Ruby.
Phillip has not worked since he left This Morning in May 2023 shortly before the affair was revealed. His co-host and once close friend, Holly Willoughby, later left herself, with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard taking over their roles.
Phillip quit ITV entirely after admitting he had lied to the Daily Mail about his the affair.
Friends of the star were ‘quite certain’ he would never work again following his admission, but Channel 5 changed this.
One said at the time: ‘Phillip has been very, very down recently. He doesn’t know how he is going to work again. It’s devastating for him to realise but he also knows that there is not a lot he can do about it. He doesn’t know who will take him. He knows there is no way back to ITV or the BBC.’
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Since 1993, Phillip has been married to Stephanie Lowe , and the pair share two daughters: Molly, 31, and Ruby, 28 (all pictured in 2018)
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In February 2020, Phillip came out as gay, shocking the country. However, he and Stephanie stayed married – albeit separating later that year (both pictured in January 2020)
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Stephanie poignantly told The Sun at the time: ‘I will still be there, holding his hand. Everyone should be proud to live their own truth (pictured in 2019)
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But, Stephanie’s world came crashing down when, in 2023, it finally became public knowledge that Phillip had conducted a years-long affair with a much-younger male ITV colleague
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Phillip infamously described the affair as ‘unwise but not illegal’. He admitted he once met the man at 15, but insisted they did not begin a relationship till he was 20 (both pictured with Holly)
Sources close to Schofield say that his friends are trying to encourage him to think he can have a ‘fulfilling life’ away from showbusiness.
One said: ‘Just because he may not be on telly again doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy his life. Phil isn’t so sure though.’
Before the Channel 5 gig, Phillip was tipped for a job on national radio – his ‘first love’ – with Britain’s largest commercial stations said to be jostling to bring him in to woo new listeners from rivals, including BBC Radio 2.
An ITV report in December 2023 cleared bosses of a cover-up of the affair and did not mention any further damaging claims about Schofield’s relationship with a young runner on the show.
Despite claims of a ‘whitewash’, industry insiders told MailOnline that it opens the door to the star getting a new big-money deal to return to work in 2024.
But a senior British broadcasting source said a return to TV for Mr Schofield is ‘unlikely – for now’.
He said: ‘Now that a line has been drawn in the sand by ITV over the Schofield saga, attention will move on.
‘Within a period of time there is now a place for Phillip to return, possibly not on TV yet, but there are now a myriad of opportunities for him on commercial radio where he will be offered big money to return to his first love.
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Before Channel 5, Phillip was tipped for a job on national radio – his ‘first love’ – with Britain’s largest commercial stations said to be jostling to bring him in to woo new listeners from rivals
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A senior British broadcasting source said a return to TV for Mr Schofield is ‘unlikely – for now’ but said: ‘Within a period of time there is now a place for Phillip to return’
‘The KC’s report gives him a fresh chance – but nobody will be surprised at all to see that ITV has found itself in the clear as it tries to save This Morning’.
Neither Phillip nor his former partner spoke to Jane Mulcahy KC, whose report came out in December.
Ms Mulcahy found that the unnamed runner’s promotion from This Morning to Loose Women ‘had nothing to do’ with Schofield and claimed that also ‘only one person’ interviewed had knowledge of the affair but ‘did not report their knowledge at time’.
Phillip started out in local radio in New Zealand as a teenager before joining the BBC, hosting a popular show on Radio 1 while presenting Going Live.
It now remains to be seen whether Britain’s most popular stations, such as Classic FM, Magic, Virgin, Heart or other giants now swoop. Greatest Hits Radio has also been on a hiring spree, grabbing big names such as Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo to take listeners from Radio 2.
But sources have said Phillip could soon be back in work.
Furious ITV staff blasted the external report into Schofield’s affair with a younger colleague as a ‘whitewash’.
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.
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But, all is now well between Phillip and Stephanie (both pictured in November 2021)
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In April of this year, on Phillip’s 62nd birthday, the former couple were pictured with matching brown cockapoos ‘from the same litter’ – just days after their 31st wedding anniversary
The external review found that the channel was ‘unable to uncover the relevant evidence’ until Phillip’s own admission in May when he told the Mail that he had been having the relationship and that he had later lied about it.
ITV bosses have said both Phillip and his former lover, who has never been named publicly, ‘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 the younger male former colleague before he revealed it.
Ms Mulcahy revealed that Phillip 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.
Phillip’s former colleague and lover also declined to participate in the report.
In April, Phillip and Stephanie were pictured amicably carrying matching brown cockapoos ‘from the same litter’ on his 62nd birthday – just days after their 31st wedding anniversary.
It is not known if they spent that special day together.
Friends of Phillip’s have said recently that he has been down and trying to find ‘fulfilling’ ways to enjoy life away from broadcasting because his career and reputation has been tarnished.
And it appears he and his wife may have decided to get a dog each to help them through some tough times.
‘Stephanie has continued to support her estranged husband – now they appear to both have new puppies from the same litter’, one onlooker said.
