She was the woman Phillip Schofield rushed to during the chaos of the This Morning scandal last year – and who reassured him that she ‘didn’t care’ when he told her he was gay.
Today the broadcaster is mourning the loss of his mother Pat and has shared a series of touching final photos of his ‘beautiful and dignified’ mum hours after announcing her death aged 88 on Monday.
Phillip took to his Instagram Stories to share a selection of family snaps of them watching the sunset together on holiday, smiling on the seafront in Blackpool, in the Royal Albert Hall for the Proms and even as the daredevil pensioner prepared to wing-walk on a plane.
The former This Morning presenter revealed her death yesterday and that he ‘held her, loved her, and hugged her’ during her final days before she passed away on Monday afternoon.
‘She was calm, peaceful, beautiful and dignified. I will forever be proud and privileged that she was my mum’, he said.
Pat had been a widow since 2008, when her husband, Phillip’s father Brian, died following a heart attack. Aside from the turmoil of her eldest son’s exit from ITV, she also had to deal with the grief of her youngest son Timothy being convicted of child sex offences in April last year.
Phillip Schofield, 62, has shared a series of touching final photos of his ‘beautiful and dignified’ mother Pat after announcing her death aged 88 on Monday
The TV star, 62, took to his Instagram Stories to share a selection of family snaps of his mother on holiday and watching the sunset
One snap showed the 88-year-old harnessed up and ready to wing walk on a plane before the star shared a video of the impressive feat
Another photo saw Pat smiling in a blue waterproof coat in front of a golden setting sun
The former This Morning presenter revealed he ‘held her, loved her, and hugged her’ during Pat’s final days before she passed away this afternoon in a post on his social media
Phillip’s wife Stephanie and their children Molly and Ruby remained supportive through all his ups and down of recent years.
But it was his mother Pat who he visited in the fallout of his affair.
Mrs Schofield and her son were photographed on a bench in Newquay where he came clean to her about his relationship with a young producer.
They were together on the Cornish coast eating fish and chips when he learned that his ITV career was over in 2023.
And three years earlier the TV presenter again went to see Pat to tell her he was gay – and she told him simply: ‘I don’t care’.
In her older years she also had to deal with her son Timothy was jailed for sexually abusing a boy.
Last night the 62-year-old star revealed that his ‘magnificent’ mother had passed away at the age of 88.
He had spoken about her ill-health, including during his recent appearance on Cast Away.
He revealed that at the height of the This Morning scandal he didn’t leave the house until his mother became critically sick, which meant he had to ‘pluck up the courage’ to leave and drive down to Cornwall to see her.
Phillip also went to visit her when his brother Timothy became a convicted paedophile – and went to jail.
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’.
‘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’, he told The Sun last week.
Phillip also gave his followers a glimpse of his mother at the Royal Albert Hall enjoying a concert, smiling with a Union Jack flag wrapped around her shoulders
Phillip shared a series of snaps of his mother on holiday including one of her stood in front of a large tree dressed in a grey and white patterned top and a sequined black cardigan
Last night the 62-year-old star revealed that his ‘magnificent’ mother had passed away at the age of 88.
Phillip broke the news of Pat’s death to his fans on his Instagram account after a ‘heartbreaking weekend’.
He shared a throwback picture of himself smiling as he lovingly placed his arm around Pat’s shoulders.
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.’
After his announcement, the presenter posted a slew of photos showing his mother enjoying herself.
One snap showed the 88-year-old harnessed up and ready to wing walk on a plane before the star shared a video of the impressive feat.
Phillip also gave his followers a glimpse of his mother at the Royal Albert Hall enjoying a concert, smiling with a Union Jack flag wrapped around her shoulders.
Another photo saw Pat smiling in a blue waterproof coat in front of a golden setting sun and in another post, she could be seen enjoying a bright turquoise cocktail and nibbling on a chunk of pineapple as she soaked up the sun on holiday.
In a final snap, Phillip shared a selfie of himself and his mother grinning in front of the Eiffel Tower at night.
Pat’s death comes sixteen years after Schofield’s father Brian passed away aged 72 in 2008 after suffering a heart attack.
The TV star didn’t reveal his mother’s cause of death, but he has previously her health issues during his Channel 5 series Cast Away, which aired last month.
The presenter revealed that both his mother and brother were diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
Pat was rushed to hospital last year after the presenter’s ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair was exposed.
Phillip was so concerned for his mother that he moved home to Cornwall to be with her.
A source revealed at the time: ‘It’s a relief for everyone that Pat is home, it has been a terribly torrid time for her. She has been under so much stress lately.
‘It is a lot for anyone, let alone someone of her age. Phillip is playing the dutiful son and is planning to spend time in Cornwall caring for her.’