Former This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield blamed his brother for his departure from ITV and said he was “sacked for someone else’s crime”.
In the final episode of Channel 5’s Phillip Schofield: Cast Away, the 62-year-old revealed he would “never in a million years” decide to return to daytime television.
Schofield went on to say that he had always been “open and honest with everyone at work about what was going on” with his brother Timothy.
His brother, 54, was convicted in April 2023 of 11 sexual offenses involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child.
On the Channel 5 programme, he said he refused to “name and refuse to recognise” his brother, who he claimed had “no qualms about going shopping” to the police, who he said had “praised” him. to ensure that “justice was done.”
Former This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield blamed his brother for his departure from ITV, saying he was “sacked for someone else’s crime”.
His 54-year-old brother (pictured) was convicted in April 2023 of 11 sexual offenses involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child.
The Oldham-born presenter said: “Although they knew all the facts, the newspapers painted me as some sort of complicit agent.”
‘That’s when my world started to collapse. My poor mom, she had to tell him about that family member. Telling your mother that is difficult.
‘And I had to go through everything with the hierarchy at ITV. The full story so they knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. The full story.’
He added: “Everything came to a head the day before he was sentenced when my agent called.
“My phone rang and I answered it, ‘Mate, are you somewhere quiet?’, which is never a good sign, ‘I got a bit of a shock, I’m afraid they’ve let you go from This Morning.'” That? “Yes, that’s it, that’s it. You won’t be back on Monday.”
‘That? because? “Think it’s the publicity, man,” that has nothing to do with me, that has nothing to do with me.
‘Why would I be fired for something someone else did? I just got fired because of him. Because I was becoming more of a story than the show.
‘It was better for the program, better for the channel. And I agreed to say that I had resigned because it would be better for everyone.
Schofield went on to say that he had always been “open and honest with everyone at work about what was going on” with his brother Timothy.
Schofield is pictured with his brother in 2017, six years before his conviction and imprisonment.
Timothy told Phillip that he had performed a sexual act and watched pornography in the teen’s presence.
Philip admitted having a secret affair with a younger colleague on ITV’s This Morning (pictured on set with Holly Willoughby) but strongly denies harassment allegations.
‘I was always open and honest with everyone at work about what was going on with my brother. They fired me for bad publicity, for someone else’s crime.
“And the thing is, about a week later, I went off on everything else (their issue), because I thought the only way to start fixing this for everyone is to do a full mea culpa.”
Schofield admitted having a secret affair with a younger colleague at ITV, but strongly denies harassment allegations.
Despite claims on the Channel 5 show that he was booted from This Morning, when he left the show more than a year ago, Schofield claimed he had resigned.
At the time, Schofield denied being “forced to leave” and said he was “very, very sorry” for lying to ITV, his colleagues, his wife and his friends.
An external review, carried out by Jane Mulcahy KC on behalf of ITV, found that the channel made “considerable efforts” to uncover the truth about an alleged affair between Schofield and a jogger in 2019, but could not find evidence over the rumours.
Schofield “reluctantly refused” to participate in the research due to the “risk to his health,” according to the December 2023 report.
Mulcahy said that during the period he reviewed, he could find no evidence of a “toxic” culture and urged ITV to help young employees who think speaking out will have a “detrimental impact on their careers”.
At the end of the Channel 5 show, Schofield said he was undecided whether he would present again.
Beginning to cry, she said, “I’m not saying it’s over, but you know, I’ll never in a million years watch daytime TV again.” I have lived a hundred television lives.
At the end of the show, Schofield could be seen reuniting with his daughter Molly, 31, and their dog, with Molly saying she was “proud to say he’s my dad.”
Phillip Schofield: Cast Away airs for three nights starting Monday September 30 at 9pm on Channel 5 and is available to stream on My5.
