Phillip Schofield on Castaway (Image: CHANNEL 5)
enjoyed a final meal with his wife Stephanie and daughters Molly and Ruby before setting off to a remote island.
Ahead of the ten day trip, daughter Molly broke down on camera as she confessed how “proud” she felt of her dad for overcoming public scrutiny over his “ill-advised but not illegal” affair. Phillip confessed at the meal, which was televised as part of this evening’s Cast Away show, “I know a lot of people hoped that I would suffer horribly.”
However, a tearful Molly insisted: “I really hope people see him the way we see him.” Phillip has maintained a warm and affectionate relationship with wife Stephanie despite coming out as gay and then being outed for an affair with a colleague decades his junior.
He also has a special relationship with his daughters, who he says brought him back from the brink. However, the meal was the last one he’d have with the women in his family before spending ten days alone on an island off the coast of Madagascar, foraging for herself without food or water.
Joanna Lumley, who’d had a similar island adventure, recorded a video message for her pal, warning him to “keep your knives sharp”. She also entertained him with stories of how she’d fashioned a pair of shoes out of her bra.
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Phillip Schofield with wife Stephanie and daughters Ruby and Molly (Image: GETTY)
Viewers were on the edges of their seats as they then watched the boat sail away, leaving Phillip all alone with no food or water, ready to fend for himself in total isolation.
Beforehand, he’d been in high spirits about his island adventure, exclaiming: “I grew up in Newquay, Cornwall, I was a beach bum!
“Being by the sea is when I am at my absolute happiness… but let’s see whether my excitement crumbles.”
Crumble it did, and at one stage his hands appeared to be shaking as he admitted he felt deprived of food and could feel his “energy draining away”.
He could scarcely stop swearing as he ran into one obstacle after another in his bid for basic survival, yelling “What a f*****g fiasco!”
Don’t miss… [FEUDS] [TEARS]
Phillip Schofield at his desert island camp (Image: CHANNEL 5)
The picturesque island clearly had its down sides, even after he found food.
“I’m going to wash the mangos in the sea because at the minute they’re covered in s***,” he winced after seeking out the fruit.
Then Phillip broke down in tears himself, as he shared the soul-searching he’d been doing since his affair was discovered and how he’d dealt with the brutality of online trolls.
“Years ago I turned the comments off on my social media – when you get battered it really hurts,” he admitted at one point.
However, he solemnly added that throughout his ordeal, which had left him suicidal at one point, his love for his family had “never wavered”.
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