Phillip Schofield claims he was axed by ITV because of the bad publicity surrounding his brother.
The former This Morning host, 62, has stepped back into the spotlight after 16 months away from screens. It comes as he continues his journey into being marooned off the coast of Madagascar for Channel 5 ‘s show Cast Away.
As the former stalwart of ITV, Phillip was seen as a goldmine for viewing figures before he opted to leave both This Morning and ITV last May. This came amid the revelation that he had had a relationship with a much younger colleague on the daytime show.
READ MORE: Eamonn Holmes furiously cuts off co-host as he slams Phillip Schofield again on show
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Since then, Phillip has branded the relationship as “unwise but not illegal”, and is now pinning the blame on other people for pushing him out of the channel. This contradicts his previous narrative, where he claimed to be leaving ITV on his own accord.
(Image: This Morning)
Speaking about his tumultuous exit from the channel, Phillip reflected on his new show about how chaotic the weeks leading up to his departure were. However, as rumours continued to swirl of a rift between him and former co-host Holly Willoughby, Phillip said it was time to step back.
“I was becoming more of a story than the programme,” he explained, “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.”
In the lead-up to Phillip’s departure, his brother Tim had recently been convicted of paedophilic crimes against a teenage boy, which only heightened the public scrutiny on the former Cube presenter. Addressing the issues in the final part of his three-part series on the island on Wednesday (October 2), Phillip said that it was better to take the fall.
(Image: This Morning)
“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,” the 5 Gold Rings host said. “I came clean about my affair, but 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.”
The disgraced host went on to slam some of his former co-hosts who had said they had no idea of brother Tim’s sexual offence charges, before going on to say he was “always open and honest” with the cast and crew. Explaining the fallout, Phil said: “There are people that you hoped would be around and then they’re not.”
(Image: Channel 5)
Fans have interpreted the quote as a dig towards former best pal Holly, who cut all contact with Phil shortly after his departure from the show. The pair had been rumoured to be feuding behind the scenes of the show, which was the original reason for Phil leaving the show behind.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
