Phillip Schofield has confirmed his beloved mother Pat has died aged 88.
The grief-stricken former This Morning presenter revealed he ‘held her, loved her, and hugged her’ during her final days before she passed away this afternoon.
Schofield, 62, broke the news to his fans on his Instagram account tonight that his ‘magnificent mum’ had died after a ‘heartbreaking weekend’.
He shared a throwback picture of himself smiling as he lovingly placed his arm around Pat’s shoulders and wrote: ‘Over three days we held her, loved her, hugged her and said everything that needed to be said.
‘She was calm, peaceful, beautiful and dignified. I will forever be proud and privileged that she was my mum.’
Schofield gave his ‘eternal thanks’ to the paramedics, the Treliske A&E department in Truro, Cornwall, and critical care team who have been ‘in the past and this weekend my mum’s and our angels’.
He signed off the post with a heartbroken emoji alongside the words: ‘I love you mum, forever.’
Pat’s death comes sixteen years after Schofield’s father Brian passed away aged 72 in 2008 after suffering a heart attack.
Phillip Schofield has confirmed the death of his mother Pat, weeks after returning to mainstream television with a new Channel 5 show
Schofield with his ‘magnificent mum’ Pat at the Wallingford Community hospital summer fete in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, in 2008
In a heartbreaking tribute Schofield said he will forever be privileged and proud that ‘she was my mum’
In October the presenter made a tentative return to the spotlight for Channel 5 show Cast Away, during which he fended for himself on a remote island for ten days.
The three-part show was married Schofield’s first TV work since losing his lucrative role with ITV and This Morning following an affair with a young male colleague.
Taking to Instagram, Schofield wrote: ‘Today, at 3pm and after a heartbreaking weekend, my magnificent mum decided to go to her beloved Brian.’
‘Over three days we held her, loved her, hugged her and said everything that needed to be said.
‘She was calm, peaceful, beautiful and dignified. I will forever be proud and privileged that she was my mum.’
Last year Schofield held a vigil by his mother’s hospital bedside after she fell seriously ill.
She was treated at the time for an unknown condition at a hospital in Cornwall for several days.
Pat returned to her home in Newquay where Schofield stayed with her and lovingly cared for her while she recuperated.
MailOnline reported at the time that she was admitted to hospital after the strain of her other son Timothy’s conviction became too much for her.
Timothy was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing a teenage boy.
A source told us that Schofield put his beloved mother before himself despite his own troubles. He admitted to having an affair with a much younger This Morning colleague while married to his wife Stephanie Lowe and lying about it.
Schofield sought support from his mother following his high-profile exit from ITV.
Schofield shares an emotional moment with his mother Pat in Cornwall last year
Schofield sought support from his mother following his high-profile exit from ITV
Pat was last year admitted to hospital after the strain of her other son (right) Timothy’s conviction became too much for her
Phillip Schofield and his brother Tim Schofield kiss their mother Pat on the cheek
The paedophile brother of TV presenter Phillip Schofield was jailed for child sex offences
Timothy Schofield was found guilty of 11 offences between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child
He was pictured driving outside her home in June last year with his cousin David Schofield – weeks after the presenter and his mother were seen hugging on a bench overlooking the sea in Newquay.
The presenter, who hosted This Morning since 2002, had been in the seaside town to support his mother as his brother, Timothy, was being sentenced for sex offences against a teenage boy.
The same day her youngest son was jailed for 12 years, Pat was told by her eldest child that he was losing his job.
While getting fish and chips with his mother, Schofield received a phone call from his manager telling him bosses at the channel wanted him to leave the show.
In an interview with The Sun last week, Schofield said: ‘I had to go down to Cornwall to be with [my mother] for the sentencing.
‘And our family thing was always to buy fish and chips and go and sit on the headland.
‘I picked my mum up and she went in to get the fish and chips — and while she was getting them, my phone rang.
‘It was my then manager saying, “Mate, I am so sorry, it has become too loud for ITV. You will have to step down from This Morning”.
Pat went wing walking for on her 81st birthday back in 2017 with footage of the daredevil stunt being shown on ITV’s This Morning
What a woman! After watching Pat partake in the stunt, the presenter wiped away tears, while Holly gushed: ‘That’s your mum! When I grow up I want to be like her!’
In 2017 daredevil Pat fulfilled a lifelong ambition as she went on a wing walk for her 81st birthday
‘And she arrived in the car. She said to me before I arrived, “You’re not coming down with any bad news, are you?”.
‘She sat in the car and she was all happy to see me, and then she said, “Oh, your face has changed”.
‘I said, “Let’s go on to the headland”. And I had to tell her.’
Another TV insider also revealed how much the former This Morning host ‘adores’ his mother.
Schofield previously revealed how his mother and brother were both diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes within six months of one another.
Speaking to Health Awareness, he said: ‘My brother and mother are both Type 1 diabetics and have been for the last 25 years, so it is something that as a family we are very used to.
‘If either of them have a hypo (a Hypoglycaemic episode which occurs when blood glucose levels drop, usually below 4 mmol/L), we can recognise the signs and we know what to do. My Mum goes particularly bonkers when she goes low, so when she starts talking nonsense we know what’s happening.’
In 2017 daredevil Pat fulfilled a lifelong ambition as she went on a wing walk for her 81st birthday with Schofield filming her from the ground. The footage was then shown on ITV’s This Morning.
A beaming Schofield sat on the sofa next to Holly Willoughby as he jokingly told how he thought she was ‘absolutely bonkers’.
A gleeful Holly comments how she is loving every second of it as Pat smiles and waves as she is flown around while strapped on top of a plane.
It was believed at the time that Pat was the oldest woman in the UK to do a loop the loop, with her stunt taken place just days before her birthday.
Pat followed in her son Schofield’s footsteps of doing a wing walk to raise money for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s official Twitter account wrote at the time: ‘Wishing Mrs Pat Schofield the best of luck with her wing walk today for her #DofEChallenge.
‘Following in the footsteps of @schofe for his DofE Diamond Challenge last year, she’s fulfilling a lifetime ambition completing this daredevil wing walk and she’s raised an incredible £1,800 for our Charity already.’
Schofield revealed at the time to ITV viewers what his mother told him when she landed.
‘She landed and said she wanted to do the full loop… it’s just extraordinarily,’ he said.
Pat told in 2020 of how proud she was of her ‘brave’ and ‘inspiring’ son when he came out as gay live on TV.
When Schofield drove to Cornwall to his mother before his public announcement to tell her he was gay, she told him: ‘I don’t care.’
In an interview with the Mirror, she said: ‘For him to be so brave in front of so many people was inspiring, because I know how hard it was for him to do.
‘I love Steph and the girls more than anything in the world and I will always be there for them.
‘When Phillip drove to Cornwall to tell me, the first thing I said was, “I don’t care”.
‘Yes it was a shock, but nothing as a family that we can’t support and applaud.’