Phillip Schofield’s brother Timothy (right) is charged with 11 counts of sexual offences, all of which he denies (Image: Instagram Phillip Schofield)
was spotted enjoying a family barbecue in his latest series ‘Cast Away’, yet one significant family member was notably absent from the gathering.
In May of the previous year, Phillip’s younger brother, Timothy Schofield, after being convicted of sexually abusing a teenage boy over three years.
Timothy, who had been employed as a , .
The court case unfolded amidst a challenging time for Phillip, who resigned from his role on just weeks after Timothy’s conviction.
as “despicable” in a strong statement released then, choosing to sever ties with him by stating: “I no longer have a brother.”
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Timothy Schofield was jailed for 12 years. (Image: PA)
In a social media post at the time, Phillip expressed his stance, saying: “My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.
“If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family. These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother.”
The Mail Online reports that Phillip went to extraordinary lengths to support his brother prior to becoming aware of his offences. He even sacrificed work commitments to look after Timothy in 2015 when he became critically ill due to complications associated with his diabetes.
Timothy seems to have once held his older brother in high regard, mirroring Phillip’s career moves by taking up presenting roles at local radio stations in Plymouth and Exeter. Timothy also featured on a phone-in segment on This Morning in 2016 where he recounted his “traumatic” brush with death caused by heart complications.
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Court artist sketch of Timothy Schofield, the brother of Phillip. (Image: PA)
Yet, as Phillip disclosed to the authorities, their fraternal bond wasn’t of the usual kind. He conveyed: “I don’t have a relationship with Tim like a brother because there are seven years between us and I moved away when he was 10.”
In his police statement, Phillip relayed that Timothy had confessed in him in September 2021 after a meal at the presenter’s London residence, revealing he was suicidal and “in a state of heightened agitation”.
The court heard Phillip’s recollection: “I turned and said, ‘What did you just say?’ He said it was last year and we were alone together. Tim said it was just this once. I told him it should never happen again. He then started to tell me about (the boy’s) body. I said, ‘F***, stop.’ I shouted at Tim that he had to stop. I didn’t want to know any of the details but he made it sound like a one-off.”
Undated handout photo issued by Paramount of Phillip Schofield as he appears in the Episode 2 of Channel 5’s Cast Away. Issue date: Saturday September 28, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story SHOWBIZ Schofield. Photo credit should read: Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited/Burning Bright Productions/PA WireNOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. (Image: PA)
At the time of Timothy’s trial, Phillip took a leave of absence from his job at This Morning, amid growing speculation about an alleged rift with his former co-worker and close friend, Holly Willoughby.
In a statement to The Sun newspaper, Phillip clarified: “As I have said before, Holly is my rock. We’re the best of friends as always, she is an incredible support on screen, behind the scenes and on the phone.
“Holly has always been there for me, through thick and thin. And I’ve been there for her. The last few weeks haven’t been easy for either of us.”
He added: “My family went through a real ordeal, and Holly’s support throughout meant the world to me as did the support of my bosses at ITV, my editor Martin Frizell and the whole This Morning family, including our amazing viewers. And of course Holly has herself been ill with shingles. Whatever happens, we still have each other to count on.”
Holly Willioughby and Phillip Schofield pictured in 2023. (Image: Getty)
Over a year has passed, and it seems the once unbreakable bond between Phillip and Holly has significantly chilled.
In a recent scene from Cast Away, Phillip was visibly upset about the lack of support post-exit, lamenting: “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 bl**dy good reason to do it. Brand, ambition is not good enough. It’s not a good enough reason to throw someone under a bus.”
In what some interpret as a jab at Holly, Phillip remarked: “People just went who I thought were my friends and they just went. And that’s like ‘what the hell? ‘.”
He added: “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.”
Phillip concluded by saying he doesn’t need ‘200 fake friends’, but cherishes the 10 to 15 close ones he ‘would die for’.