Phillip Schofield’s most controversial moments – ‘Queuegate’, affair and ITV apology

Phillip Schofield has been away from the public eye for almost a year – but he was once the golden star of ITV.

The 62-year-old started his TV career as a presenter for Children’s BBC, before replacing John Leslie on ITV daytime programme This Morning. Phil also hosted other shows like Dancing on Ice, The Cube, Mr and Mrs and 5 Gold Rings.

However his career came crashing down last year, with him first quitting This Morning and then leaving ITV and television altogether. And despite being loved by many viewers and growing in popularity over his four-decade long career, he didn’t escape controversy.

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Last year, rumours circulated about a rift between Phillip and Holly Willoughby, leading to him declaring his exit from This Morning. There appeared to be increasing tension between the two hosts in the weeks leading up to it, though they tried to maintain a normal atmosphere on episodes of the show.

Whilst neither Holly nor Phil directly mentioned their conflict at the time, Phillip confirmed his departure and told his followers that he agreed to leave the show. It came shortly after Schofe’s brother Timothy was jailed for 12 years over child sex offences, with Phil being off-screen during the trial.

Disciplinary action

Phil made headlines when ITV had to carry out “appropriate disciplinary action”. This came about after he and Holly surprised former Prime Minister David Cameron with a list of alleged child abusers during an interview live on air.

Phillip was heavily criticised for showing David the list, which reportedly included names of Conservative Party figures. An ITV spokesperson confirmed that both Phillip and ITV had said sorry for the incident.

“Last Thursday we started looking into what happened during that day’s This Morning show, for which both Phillip Schofield and ITV said sorry,” the statement read.

“We really apologise because the way we talked about the issue was clearly wrong and we should have done it differently.”

Queuegate

After Queen Elizabeth the Second passed away, Holly and Phil filmed a part for This Morning as the Queen was laid in state. It seemed that even though people had been waiting in line for hours, including David Beckham and Susanna Reid, Holly and Phil had “jumped the queue” and quickly got to the viewing.

This made people very angry and almost 79,000 people signed a petition on Change.org to get Phillip and co-host Holly removed from This Morning after the scandal. They explained what had happened on the show, saying: “The rules were that we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back.

“In contrast, those paying respects walked along a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause. None of the broadcasters and journalists there took anyone’s place in the queue and no one filed past the Queen.”

Prince Harry advice

While everyone was talking about whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be at King Charles’ Coronation, Phillip had some words for Harry. On This Morning, someone asked if Harry would be the one everyone asked about Royal life now.

Holly Willoughby said: “I don’t think he is!” Then Phillip jumped in with a cheeky comment about Harry: “You would hope that now the line has been drawn, you move on, you shut up and you crack on with your charity work.”

Right after that, they did a segment about being nice to people, which made some viewers think it was a bit odd after what Phillip just said.

‘Tone deaf’ Spin to Win

The This Morning Spin to Win game segment got 400 Ofcom complaints from viewers. They were not happy with Holly and Phil for the “tone deaf” game.

The game offered winners money to help pay their bills, which have been getting higher in of the cost of living crisis. Phil talked about the segment that “everyone’s talking about”.

He said: “Our boss is incredibly generous and has decided to increase the money to include all of your household bills, so that could mean your mortgage, your petrol or your food.”

After the game finished, Phil said: “I wonder how much of that they can complain about online?” He was making fun of people who didn’t like it and said it was like a “nightmare sequence from a dystopian drama” like Netflix’s Black Mirror.

Affair

Weeks after Phil’s exit from This Morning, news emerged that he had been having an affair with a younger runner on the show and had lied about it. He eventually admitted to it, confirmed his exit from ITV in a statement and apologised to his colleagues, management agency and even his lawyers for lying about it.

In his statement, he said: “I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.

“Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over.”

He went on: “I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife.”

Since then, Phil has not appeared anywhere in a professional capacity, but has been seen out and about with family and friends, including Vanessa Feltz.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk