Speculation is rife over the identity of mystery presenter Phillip Schofield who claims he ‘had an affair’ after making the surprise statement about his much-criticised TV comeback.
The This Morning star, 62, made the shocking claims as he reflected on his own ouster from ITV last year after admitting he had an “ill-advised and not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague.
Phillip made his return to TV in the Channel 5 series Cast Away, spending ten days alone on a remote island in Madagascar.
During the second episode, Phillip reflected on the affair scandal that led to his departure from ITV, saying: “Embarrassed, disgraced Phillip Schofield having an affair.”
‘Strangely enough, I think a few other TV presenters would have done exactly the same thing. The difference is: heterosexual.’
Speculation continues over the identity of mystery presenter Phillip Schofield who claimed he ‘had an affair’ after making the surprise statement during his TV comeback
The This Morning star made the shocking claims as he reflected on his own ouster from ITV last year
Phillip then added that relationships with an age gap of several years are “not unusual in the gay world,” suggesting that the public reaction would have been different if his affair had been with a woman.
He continued, “If that had been the case with me and it had been a woman. Pat on the back. “Good job buddy.”
Phillip’s comments came as he also appeared to put further strain on his relationship with his former co-host and best friend Holly Willoughby after pointing the finger at ‘three sh**s of showbiz’ in his new desert island documentary.
He appears to blame his dramatic fall from grace on a trio of his former ITV colleagues, saying: ‘I think there’s only three things [of showbiz].’
He pointed out that one was a ‘coward who never stood up at Queuegate’, while another ‘is a coward because she never stood up when I was being abused’.
Phillip also claimed that the third is “just brand-centric,” adding, “Not what you expect, not what you think you get.”
Although Phillip doesn’t mention any names, there is speculation that he could be targeting Holly, who he doesn’t mention at all in the series.
During the second episode, Phillip reflected on the affair scandal that led to his departure from ITV, saying: Embarrassed, disgraced Phillip Schofield having an affair’
Another would be This Morning editor Martin Frizell – who Schofield apparently blames for blaming him for ‘Queugate’, when he and Willoughby were accused of skipping the queue to see the Queen in state lie.
Schofield, whose career fell apart after he admitted lying about his affair in May last year, no longer follows Frizell on social media.
Other targets could include ITV chief Dame Carolyn McCall, who branded Schofield’s relationship with a younger staffer as ‘highly inappropriate’.
Schofield continued to take aim at those he believes wronged him, adding of his previously long-standing TV career: “They know how important that was to me.
‘They know that if you throw someone under a bus, you have to have a very good reason for it. Brand, ambition is not good enough.
He continued, “People can be fake. They can be so fake to you when things are going well, and suddenly be a complete betrayal.
“There are a lot of great people on morning television.”
Despite mentioning ITV co-stars Ant, 48, and December 49, as well as Joanna Lumley, 78, his former friend Willoughby is not mentioned at all in the episode.
In an outburst that has viewers wondering if it’s aimed at her, Schofield says: “If you’re going to throw someone under a bus, you’ve got to have a really good reason for it.
‘I started in television because I love the details of television, I never wanted to be famous. I’m not worried about that.
‘I’m missing parts of it. I miss most of it, to be honest. But there are parts that I really, really, really don’t miss. You learn a lot about people. I don’t miss that.’
In the second episode of his Cast Away series, Phillip confessed that even though he feels like he’s been “thrown under the bus,” he could easily do the same to them.
In the second episode of his Cast Away series, Phillip confessed that even though he feels like he’s been “thrown under the bus,” he could easily do the same to them.
He insisted: ‘I’ve been thrown under a bus and I could run over so many people with the same bus, but I’m not that kind of person.
“I’ve never been, but if I sit down with a camera and the lights on, who knows what I’ll say.”
The star also reflected on how his famous friends abandoned him after his affair came to light, as he continued: “I know what I did and I wish I hadn’t done it, and I know I made life hard for the people I love most.
“But people just went, people I thought were my friends just went. And it’s like, ‘What the heck?'”
He added: ‘I think a few more presenters could have done the same, the difference is heterosexual.’
Later in the episode, he explained, “It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that the people you thought you knew aren’t the people you knew.”
He described the incident as a “complete betrayal” and concluded: “I don’t need 200 fake friends. I have ten, fifteen real friends I would die for, and they would die for me too.’
In Channel 5’s Cast Away, the broadcaster is stranded on a desert island off the coast of Madagascar for ten days, without food or water and without a production crew.