Phillip Schofield condemns lack of support from ITV execs in fiery rant

has lashed out at ITV, referring to three individuals as “three sh*ts” in a scalding tirade where he bemoaned the lack of loyalty shown towards him at the broadcaster.

Schofield walked away from ITV in May 2023 amidst revelations of his affair with a younger male colleague from This Morning, a scandal he’d previously denied. The fury he harbours seems directed not just towards executives but also possibly towards his former presenting partner , who is reportedly no longer on good terms with him.

Reflecting on his earlier years, sat beside a warming fire after shooting a new series on an island, Schofield recounted how at 19, working as a booking clerk at the , he first encountered Television Centre, the iconic location where This Morning was later produced, declaring his deep affection for the site.

He revealed: “When what happened to me happened to me, it screwed up my favourite building in the world, and it pretty well blew away all those happy memories, and suddenly the place became hostile to me, and that was heartbreaking. And the people who did it to me, know, they know how important that building was to me. They know that when you throw someone under a bus, you’ve got to have a really bloody good reason to do it. Brand, ambition is not good enough. It’s not a good enough reason to throw someone under a bus.”

Stoking the flames both literally and figuratively, he added fuel to the fire with a candid outburst: “I was just thinking there as I was collecting wood. There are only three sh*ts. One of them is a coward who never stepped up in queue gate. One of them is a coward because they never stepped up when I was being battered by one journalist….and the other one is just brand orientated. Not what you expect, not what you think you’re going to get. When it all came to a sudden and very abrupt end, questions were asked about our toxic environment in parliament!”, reports .

He acknowledged the presence of some “tricky people” but suggested that the toxicity levels were overblown. He didn’t hold back on his grievances, continuing: “When you’ve given so much to somewhere and been so loyal, to have absolutely no loyalty shown to you. I know what I did was unwise, not sensible. But is it enough to absolutely destroy someone? Literally destroy them.”

Schofield seems incensed by the lack of support he received during the backlash he and Holly faced for their visit to see the late Queen Elizabeth II’s lying in state without joining the public queue. Utilising media passes, they faced criticism from some corners but were defended by ITV’s chief executive, Dame Carolyn McCall, who clarified that the duo were there in a professional capacity to report for This Morning.

The TV veteran expressed his distress after he was let go by YMU, the same day he resigned from ITV, remarking that he felt “suicidal” at the time. Schofield elaborated: “They sent me what looked like a cut and pasted text, (saying) ‘this time we’ll have to let you go’.”

Schofield acknowledges that some might perceive his revelations as a “mad rant” but asserts he is indifferent to such opinions, stating, “I don’t ‘care any more’ as I have ‘nothing to lose’.”

In an emotionally charged moment during a fishing trip on the island, it’s possible he was alluding to Holly when he reflected, “People just went who I thought were my friends and they just went. And that’s like ‘what the hell? ‘.”

Despite having presented This Morning together for over a decade, Schofield and Holly have not been observed in each other’s company since his departure from the show. They also haven’t shared comments or images online, a stark change from their known history of close interaction and social gatherings at each other’s homes.

In statements that may relate to Holly or others from This Morning, Schofield conveyed how difficult it was to accept that those he thought he understood had “It is hard to come to terms with the fact that the people you thought you knew were not the people that you knew. They had completely different agendas.”

Schofield claims he has come to realise he doesnt need “200 fake friends”, referencing the numerous individuals in television who have ceased communication with him, adding that he now cherishes 10-15 friends he “would die for”. Getting even more candid about former colleagues and ITV connections, Schofield voiced that he is unconcerned with peoples reactions after viewing the programme.

He stated: “The good thing is, when you do a programme like this and you do it just for yourself, you have nothing to lose. They’ve taken pretty much everything. Reputation, dignity, legacy, everything away. I’m not bleating Im getting it off my chest. And I’ve said my piece. Any anyone who’s bitter about that, honestly you can f**k off cause I don’t give a sh*t. I quit. Mic drop.”

This scathing attack, potentially directed at This Morning or ITV Daytime executives who failed to back him, features in the second episode of : Cast Away. It follows scenes from the first episode where he also took a swipe at Holly.

He asked his family “If you’re okay, then we’re okay and I’m Okay. Are you okay? ” This question ‘Are you OK’ was famously posed by Holly to viewers after Schofield’s departure from This Morning, which some found to be an awkward show opener.

Many within the television industry speculate that this Channel 5 series is Schofield’s bid to make a comeback to TV, where he has spent four decades. However, while on the island, he firmly asserts that he has no plans to return, especially not to a daytime TV show like This Morning.

He expressed: “You expect your life to follow a path? I honestly thought, you know. I’m going to die on live television, hopefully at 93. But then you know it. It’s gone. And it’s not the way you planned it to be. It’s not the life you expected.”

He further added: “Look I love telly. I’ve got telly in my bones but I won’t sit on a sofa again. I’m not going to do that again. There are people I won’t work with again. Some people I won’t work with again. I’ve been hurt so badly by that sort of telly, that you get to a point where you think ‘I don’t want to do it anymore’.”

In a lighter moment on the show he recalls how during family holidays he would often construct chairs on the beach out of sand and attempted to create one on his desert island. However, something goes slightly awry with the design and chuckling, he says it resembles more of a grave than a chair.

He muses: “Maybe this is what retirement feels like? And I absolutely refuse to you know sit in a rocking chair and do nothing. I want to explore.”

Maybe getting to this stage in your life is about setting new challenges.”

He concluded: “Things didn’t turn out the way you thought they might. So you have got to look elsewhere.”

The spirited presenter reaches a zenith of his Cast Away experience when he triumphantly catches fish and crabs, brimming with vigour, scaling to the peak of the island. Emotion overtakes him at the summit of Ankarea mountain.

Recollecting the profound moment, he remarks: “When anyone says to me where’s the favourite place you have ever been? It will never change, from now on – it’s this!”.

: Cast Away starts at 9pm on Monday on Channel 5, followed by episodes on Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time.