Phillip Schofield has broken his silence after confirming he will return to television 16 months after leaving This Morning.
The former TV star has filmed a Channel 5 special called Cast Away, which follows a “celebrity marooned on an inhabited tropical island off the coast of Madagascar for 10 days”.
On Instagram today he posted: "Now you know how I spent my Summer! Alone for 10 days, no food, no water, no crew. My story of survival, both on a desert island and off it.
"Cast Away starts Monday on @channel5_tv & My5 at 9pm."
NEW 🚨 Phillip Schofield returns to TV next week in a one-man reality show on Channel 5.
— sᴜᴘᴇʀ ᴛᴠ (@superTV247) September 24, 2024
"Cast Away" airs 3 nights next week and will see Phillip dropped off on a remote uninhabited island for ten days, with no crew and only a few cameras to document his experience, by himself. pic.twitter.com/lMOPylaz3U
Schofield resigned from ITV last May after he admitted to an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague.
At the time, the former TV star said he had “lost everything” after admitting to the affair, and that the fallout had had a “catastrophic effect” on his mind.
In December, an external review by Jane Mulcahy KC, instructed by ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall, found that ITV made “considerable efforts” to find out the truth about an alleged relationship between Schofield and a runner on This Morning in 2019 but was “unable to uncover the relevant evidence” until the presenter’s own admission in late May 2023.
This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby left This Morning almost five months later, after 14 years on the sofa alongside Schofield.
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Willoughby has continued to front ITV’s Dancing On Ice, with Stephen Mulhern replacing Schofield as co-host.
Over the weekend, Channel 5 posted a short clip of a mystery star, said to be Schofield, walking across a remote beach, as it teased its “brand new” desert island programme on social media.
“A celebrity marooned on an uninhabited tropical island off the coast of Madagascar for 10 days is challenged with total isolation, the forces of nature, and the battle within their own mind,” the video was captioned.
The news was met with anger online, with many feeling Channel 5 were offering Schofield a chance at 'redemption'.
Representatives for Channel 5 have been contacted for comment.
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