Phillip Schofield said he hates ‘kissing his ass’ as he shared a nude photo from his time on a desert island for Cast Away news.
The former This Morning presenter, 62, flew to Madagascar to fend for himself on an island for 10 days while he made his TV comeback after stepping down ITV show last May after an ‘ill-advised’ affair with a junior colleague.
Phillip’s show has proven controversial after he apparently took a swipe at former co-host and girlfriend Holly Willoughby and made shocking claims about other male stars possibly ‘having an affair’.
On his Instagram Stories on Friday, he captioned the photo of himself naked on the beach: “Thank you for your incredible support, I have received hundreds of beautiful messages that are very important to me. I’m so proud of the shows’.
Before ‘Obvs the hates can…. kiss my a***’ alongside a plug for the Channel 4 show which is now available to stream online.
Phillip Schofield, 62, said he hates ‘kissing his ass’ as he shared a nude photo from his time on a desert island for Cast Away news
The former This Morning presenter flew to Madagascar to fend for himself on an island for 10 days as he makes his TV comeback after quitting the ITV show last May following an ‘ill-advised’ affair with a junior colleague
Holly distanced herself from her former best friend and during a ‘very strategic’ return to the This Morning sofa in June 2023, she told viewers she was left ‘shocked, let down and worried’.
When she came back, she started by saying, “Hi, first of all, are you okay?” I hope so. It feels very strange to be here without Phil.’
Phillip appears to reference the now famous speech on Cast Away and is seen having a barbecue with his family before heading to the island.
Handing out food to his wife Stephanie and their daughters Molly, 31, and Ruby, 28, he laughs: “If you’re okay, then we’re okay, and I’m okay too… I’m okay.” you?’
There’s no mention of Holly in the clip, but fans were quick to clock the joke, with one calling Phillip’s series an “ego trip” before claiming he’s clearly “not as remorseful as he claims.”
Posts on X include: ‘Ooooh was that a cheeky swipe at Holly Willoughby there Phillip? Are you doing well; You’re all right… THAT HOLLY DIG!’
‘Schofe is about to draw a smiley face on a volleyball and call it ‘Willoughby’.
Meanwhile, critics weren’t too impressed either, with Ny Breaking’s Roland White claiming Phillip’s TV return could be the biggest television mistake since Prince Andrew thought his Newsnight interview ‘went well’.
In the two-star review, he said: ‘By far the most entertainment to be had on last night’s episode of Cast Away (C5) was imagining the meeting that convinced Phillip Schofield it was a good idea to attend.
“This could really put you back in the public eye, Phillip dear,” they might have said. “Because what people really want to watch these days is a big celebrity feeling sorry for themselves for an hour.”
Only an hour? It felt much longer. This could be the biggest misjudgment on television since Prince Andrew smiled at Emily Maitlis and said: ‘That went well, didn’t it?’
The idea is that Phillip would spend ten days alone on a tropical island off the coast of Madagascar. Let’s not forget that this is someone who – as one of The Talent – had people working to accommodate his every wish. Could he handle it?
“I think there are a lot of people who hope I never come back,” he said. That just crossed the line from self-mockery to self-pity, which is never an attractive look.