Phillip Schofield is one of the most recognisable faces on British telly after rising to fame as a presenter on some of the country’s biggest TV shows.
For over two decades the silver-haired fox has kept the nation entertained from the comfort of the This Morning sofa.
Thanks to his impressive career, Phil has worked with just about everyone there is to work with in TV.
Last year, Phil bravely came out live on the show alongside his co-host and close friend Holly Willoughby.
After being immediately showered with praise, Phil spent lockdown penning an autobiography to open up about his life behind closed doors.
Here we run down some of the book’s biggest revelations.
Reducing Judy Finnigan to tears
Phil admitted he accidentally made Judy cry (Image: ITV)
Writing in his biography, Phil recalled how he accidentally reduced Judy Finnigan to tears during a live 1996 interview.
At the time, This Morning was hosted by iconic TV duo Richard and Judy, and Phil was booked on the show to talk about his roles in West End hits Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Doctor Dolittle.
The chat was the first live broadcast from This Morning’s London based studio after relocating from Liverpool.
Until then, the daytime show had broadcast from Albert Dock from 1988.
Writing in Phillip Schofield: Life’s What You Make It, Phil said: “I accidentally made Judy cry.
“I knew that it had been a wrench for them to move from the North West and at the end of the interview I asked how they were settling into their new studio.
“Judy burst into tears. Slightly awkward.”
Being bemused by Weakest Link legend Anne Robinson
Anne and Phillip worked together back in the early noughties (Image: BBC)
Over the years Phil has met some stranger and wonderful characters but none he found more fascinating than Anne Robinson.
The duo worked together in 2002 when they hosted BBC series Test The Nation.
Despite stressing that he liked Anne, he admitted he found her on-set antics more than a little questionable.
Revealing how she would tell members of staff she was ready for her in-ears to be set up, Phillip wrote: “When she was ready she would tilt her head to one side and impatiently cough until he had spotted his cue and stuck it in her ear.”
He went on to add that she would even brazenly asked him how he planned on spending his earnings from each episode.
“She was fascinated by money,” Phil continued.
“At the end of each show she wanted to know what I was going to buy with what I’d just earned.”
Anne was also reportedly shocked by the fact Phil had bought a property abroad without any staff to wait on his beck and call.
Phil’s ‘row’ with Fern Britton
Phillip Schofield and Fern Britton previously hosted This Morning together (Image: ITV)
Phil and Fern worked together amicably for years until she left This Morning in 2009 to be replaced by Holly Willoughby.
However, shortly after she accused him on “meddling” in the show’s content.
Writing frankly, Phil said: “I walked back into the makeup room and calmly said, ‘Please don’t do that to me again,'”
“I think, for whatever reason, that was the point Fern decided she didn’t want to do This Morning any more.”
Fern had previously hinted at their bust-up saying: “I began not to enjoy it so much and the morning I resigned, I didn’t know I was going to resign.”
She added on The Ray D’Arcy Show: “Something happened and I just thought, ‘That’s it really’ and I walked away and resigned.
“I was treated pretty poorly, actually. And after a while, I just thought, ‘Sod it’.”
Despite their disagreement, Phil says Fern did reach out to his wife Steph – even if she shunned him.
He penned: “When I came out, she didn’t text me.
“She did text Steph though, which was really kind.”
Holly Willoughby clash rumours
Phil and Holly are best friends, often hanging out outside of work (Image: ITV)
Prior to his live TV admission, reports claimed Holly and Phil were locking horns behind the scenes at This Morning.
However, writing in his book, Phil admitted they were in fact closer than they had ever been due to the fact she was one of the only people he confided in about his sexuality.
Phil said: “I’d told her, so she was helping me through, so I had a rock at home with Steph and a rock here with Holly.
“The trouble with that is, that just made things worse, when you’re seeing a guy in the papers you don’t recognise.
“That was worse because it was on top of everything else.”
“You’re going around and around and around, and then I couldn’t eat, then I couldn’t sleep.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
