Phillip Schofield‘s latest attempt to launch a comeback on a desert island survival programme called ‘Cast Away’ failed to hide his ‘bitterness’ over his fall from grace according to a body language expert.
Since he was forced to resign from ITV‘s This Morning when it emerged he was having an affair with a 20-year-old male colleague while married, the former presenter has battled desperately to rebuild his tattered career.
But his latest effort to return to the public eye on Channel 5, is a ‘epic act of TV vanity publishing’ according to body language expert Judi James.
The 62-year-old stars in a three part series which details his trials surviving on an island close to Madagascar for ten days which aired for the first time last night.
Phillip Schofield: Making his latest attempt to return to television screens in ‘Cast Away’
Anger: Schofield gritting his teeth is a sign of frustration a body language expert said
Stranded: The former face of ITV spends much of the series reflecting on his collapsed career
Ms James explains despite Schofield’s endeavours to ‘make us his friend and confidante’ it is his overriding sense of ‘anger and bitterness’ which come to the forefront.
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said: ‘At one very telling moment when Schofield is being briefed by a survival expert he throws his eyes to the camera in a non-verbal “aside”.
‘This makes us his friend and confidante. Which is then the theme throughout. He “confides” directly, using his own camera as the catalyst.
‘For a man working a comeback it is a very powerful move as it allows him to spill all with an air of one-to-one intimacy.’
But she goes on to add that: ‘There is in a second non-verbal emote a hint of supressed anger or bitterness.
‘He talks about being sad for so long and his teeth bare and then clench while his head shakes in disbelief.’
The series sees Schofield speaking to camera about his experiences on the island but also talking with his family back at his home.
Schofield in a ‘telling moment’ when he uses a coy expression to earn the trust of the audience
Ms James says Schofield uses non-verbal gestures to reveal his emotions on the show
While with his wife and daughters they clearly show their support according to Ms James.
She says: ‘They gaze at him with nose-wrinkling indulgent, adoring smiles and he asks ‘Are you ok?’ several times.’
Schofield uses his experience of being in front of television crews to try to put his position on his ruined career across.
‘Apart from acting as director and cameraman he also does his own voice-over and films himself as his own talking head in a studio setting that is interspersed with the desert island action,’ Ms James says.
‘He is also the star of the show in terms of filming himself panning for food and sitting in several island locations etc.
‘So we see him talking about his experiences to camera in the studio then also talking about them on location.
‘His emotional displays are clearly important, as is his use of the camera to direct the role of his audience at home.’
Schofield sits with his family who have supported him throughout his troubles
Schofield laughing with his family which the body language expert claims is meant to reveal their support for him
During the television series Schofield argues he never wanted to in the limelight
At one stage Schofield argues he never wished to be famous.
This also came to the attention of Ms James who described it as ‘ironic’.
She said: ‘There are tears in the studio and tears on location.
‘There are big dollops or irony, like when he films scenes of his family sitting round a table with him before telling us that “none of them are happy with the limelight”.
‘Or, when he says “I never wanted to be famous” or “Let me get on with a quiet life”-by filming one of the biggest, longest selfies in history.’
Channel 5 Commissioning Editor, Guy Davies, described the series as more than ‘just a survival challenge… it is chance for Phillip to look back over the last explosive 18 months of his life, and explore what happened.’
‘The audience will learn how he feels now about television and the future, as well as the past. And it will be Phillip Schofield as we have never seen him before – unguarded, emotional and brutally honest…’.
‘This solitary island existence presents an opportunity for Phillip to confront the challenges of total isolation, the forces of nature and provides the time to battle within his own mind as he explores his own controversial story.’