Channel 5 Cast Away's Phillip Schofield's 'unforgivable' admission and words that saved his life

Phillip Schofield will return to our screens tonight for the first time in 16 months. The former This Morning presenter will star in a new Channel 5 programme named Cast Away.

The programme will see the 62-year-old tell his “story of survival, both on a desert island and off it”. It comes months after the presenter quit his role at This Morning in May last year after admitting to an affair with a younger man while working on the show.

Mr Schofield has largely stayed away from the limelight since his presenting career was halted amid the scandal. After Mr Schofield left ITV, he sat down with the BBC's Amol Rajan for a tell all interview and claimed his television career was over after the scandal. He said: "I am done and have to talk about television in the past tense, which breaks my heart."

Mr Schofield also opened up on how the scandal had a "catastrophic" impact on his mental health. He said: "Do you want me to die? Because that's where I am. I have lost everything."

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Mr Schofield has two daughters, Molly and Ruby, and claimed he wouldn't be here without their intervention. He revealed how their words saved his life as he said: "My girls saved my life.

"They said last week, they haven't left me for a moment, they have been by my side every moment because they're scared to let me out of their sight. What is that like for daughters to have to go through something like that?

"They said to me 'don't you dare do this on our watch, we're supposed to be looking after you'. If my girls hadn't been there then I wouldn't be here because I don't see a future. How much do you want a man to take?"

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In the BBC interview with Amol Rajan, Mr Schofield also opened up on the events that led to his fall from grace. He clarified that he was first introduced to the younger man in question when he was aged 15. The former This Morning host said: "I was invited by a friend of mine to go to a school, which is something I've done thousands of times.

"Whether it was immediately or sometime after [his friend] said would you follow him on Twitter because he's a fan." Mr Schofield agreed and insisted they hardly ever messaged and the conversation strictly centred on career advice. He said: "I follow 11,300 people, and in all the time I've been on Twitter, there has never been a whiff of impropriety."

Mr Schofield revealed the young man expressed an interest in television aged 19 and asked if he could visit the This Morning studios for work experience, which the broadcaster arranged. He added: "I've done that all my life. I'm best friends with the people who got me into television and I've always believed in paying it forward."

Mr Schofield explained the relationship was never flirtatious and only turned sexual when the man was aged "20/21". He said: "He'd been working at the show for a few months and we'd become mates. We were mates, we hung around the studio together. And then in my dressing room one day, something happened."

Mr Schofield admitted his regret and branded his actions "unforgivable" as he said: "Obviously I will regret forever for him and for me. Mostly him but that happened maybe four or five times over the next few months and I know it's unforgivable but we weren't boyfriends. We weren't in a relationship."

The former ITV host said he was in a "poor mental state with his own sexuality at the time" as he explained how the relationship came to an end. He added: "I thought that was bad but it's nothing like this. It just sort of drifted.

"We've still stayed mates. We're still mates. I got him work because, living in London, you're obviously struggling. I got him runner's jobs on other shows I did because he was a very good runner and a mate and someone you know." Mr Schofield said they are still friends and he has arranged independent legal advice for his former colleague.

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Cast Away sees Mr Schofield film himself on an island off the coast of Madagascar. Viewers will watch as Schofield fends for himself while also reflecting on the turmoil of the scandal he was at the centre of.

In a post to his Instagram followers, Schofield said this is how he spent his summer - “alone for 10 days with no food, no water and no crew”. The synopsis explains: "The famous face has to confront the challenges of total isolation, the forces of nature, and the battle within their own mind."

The show takes inspiration from the Tom Hanks film of the same name. It starts tonight at 9pm and will be broadcast for the next three nights. After tonight's episode, the rest of the episodes are scheduled for Tuesday, October 1 and Wednesday, October 2 at 9pm.