British former TV presenter Phillip Schofield has said that he “came very close to ending his life” after he exited his high-profile role on ITV’s This Morning
Schofield departed the show, which he co-anchored with Holly Willoughby, in May 2023, after his secret affair with a young male researcher was revealed. He has stayed under the radar ever since, but will appear in a Channel 5 show reflecting on his abrupt departure and life since. For the three-part Castaway, Schofield spent a fortnight by himself on the island of Madagascar, filming himself with a camera crew stationed on another island.
Previously one of the UK’s most well-known and highly-paid TV stars, Schofield said only the thought of his daughters prevented him following through on his plan to harm himself.
The Guardian newspaper reports that, in the show to be broadcast Monday evening, he said:
“I had everything in place, everything was set up and everything was ready. (Daughter) Molly said: ‘Do you imagine what this would do to us if you actually managed to pull this off? Can you imagine what would happen and can you imagine what it would do to me if you did this on my watch?’ And that was just enough to take a step back from the edge.”
And he also criticised the way he had been treated by his former ITV stablemates, including Willoughby, with whom he was very close before his departure. He said: “When you throw someone under a bus, you’ve got to have a really bloody good reason to do it.”
Regarding his future employment, he appeared to confirm he won’t appear on ITV again, saying: “Although my best mates host it, there are some channels you just won’t work for. There are just some people you won’t work for.”
Schofield previously called his affair “unwise but not illegal” and said he would be forever sorry for his actions, including lying about the relationship to his TV bosses. At the time, his agent parted ways with him and he has since not appeared on British television.