Phillip Schofield has claimed that he was fired from his presenting role on This Morning following the conviction of his brother for child sex crimes.
The TV presenter, 62, made his return to mainstream television with a three-part Channel 5 special titled Phillip Schofield: Cast Away, which sees him left on a desert island for 10 days without food or water.
Schofield's appearance in the series comes 16 months after he stepped away from This Morning after his 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a 'younger male colleague' was revealed.
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However the presenter has now claimed that he was fired from ITV due to his younger brother's conviction for child sex crimes.
In April 2023, Schofield's 54-year-old brother was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child.
During the episode Schofield claimed he received a call from his agent on the day of his brother's sentencing and was told he'd been 'fired' from This Morning.
Despite this, Schofield said in a statement at the time that he had 'resigned' from the show and denied that he had been 'forced out'.
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"I have agreed to step down from This Morning with immediate effect, in the hope that the show can move forward to a bright future," Schofield said in 2023 of his This Morning departure, while ITV added that he was expected back for 'The British Soap Awards and a new prime time series' at the time.
On his new Channel 5 show, the presenter claimed: "There is a member of my family who I refuse to name and refuse to acknowledge. Who committed a heinous crime.
"And I had absolutely no qualms whatsoever in shopping him."
Schofield then went on to say that he was painted out to be 'some sort of complicit agent' in the papers, which was when 'my world started to collapse'.
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He then went on to add that 'everything came to a head the day before he was sentenced' when he received a call from his agent.
"My phone rang and I picked it up, ‘mate, are you somewhere quiet’ which is never a good sign,’I’ve got a bit of a shock, I’m afraid you’ve been let go from This Morning’. What? ‘Yeah that’s it, it’s done. You’re not going back on Monday’," he said.
“What? because of what? ‘Think it’s the publicity, mate’, that’s got nothing to do with me, that has nothing to do with me.
"I was always open and honest with everyone at work about what was happening with my brother. I was fired for the bad publicity, for someone else’s crime."
Schofield publicly admitted to having an affair with a younger male colleague a week later via a statement to The Daily Mail, however he denied all accusations of grooming.
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"I am making this statement via the Daily Mail, to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story which they wanted to write about me a few days ago," he said.
He continued: "I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife...
"I am resigning from ITV with immediate effect, expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.
"I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it."
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Phillip Schofield: Cast Away airs at 9pm on Monday on Channel 5, and will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time.
Topics: ITV, Phillip Schofield, TV
Brenna Cooper