Phillip Schofield blames 'three s**** of showbiz' for ITV departure as he hits out at 'utter betrayal'

Phillip Schofield blames 'three s**** of showbiz' for ITV departure as he hits out at 'utter betrayal'

Phillip Schofield has blasted three ITV bigwigs for his downfall, calling them the “three shits of showbiz”.

The former This Morning presenter took aim at three unnamed senior figures while appearing on Channel 5 reality series Cast Away.

Schofield, 62, left his long-standing role on the popular breakfast programme last year following revelations of an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague.

Schofield has been off air ever since and is hoping that Cast Away, which begins on Monday evening, can be the first step towards a comeback.

Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby with the award for best daytime programme at the National Television Awards in 2019 (PA Archive)
Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby with the award for best daytime programme at the National Television Awards in 2019 (PA Archive)
Phillip Schofield has returned to TV screens with Cast Away ((Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited/Paramount))
Phillip Schofield has returned to TV screens with Cast Away ((Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited/Paramount))

The Sun claims to have seen footage of Schofield targeting unnamed top brass at the network.

The three hour-long episodes were all self-filmed by Schofield and charts his effort to survive on a desert island for 10 days - while coming to terms with his ordeal.

As well as his departure from This Morning, Schofield was also unhappy of his treatment over “queuegate”.

This saw him castigated along with co presenter Holly Willoughby for being given permission to jump the line to film inside Westminster Hall for the Queen’s lying in sake in 2022.

In the preview clip, Schofield said of the ITV top bods: “They know how important that was to me.

“They know 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.”

He adds: “People can be fake. They can be so fake with you when it’s all going well, and suddenly utter, utter betrayal.

“There are a lot of amazing people on morning television.

“I think there are only three sh*s. One of them is a coward who never stepped up in queuegate.

"One is a coward, because they never stepped up when I was being battered. And the other is just brand-orientated.”

Schofield did not identify the three “shits” but the Sun has speculated that they are Willoughby, his former This Morning editor Frizell and ITV chief Dame Carolyn McCall.

“They’ve taken pretty much everything,” he said. “Reputation, dignity, legacy, everything.”

He previously hit out at their “utter betrayal”.

Schofield came out as gay on the show in 2020 and will also reveal on Cast Away that the experience caused him “anguish” while his downfall left him “suicidal”.

The fall out led him to part ways with his former best friend Willoughby - who has also now left This Morning and not commented on Cast Away.

In the trailer, Schofield says to camera: “I’ve been cast away on a desert island, completely on my own, all I have is camera gear, and I can say whatever I want about whatever I want.

“It’s my chance to tell my side of my story. I know what I did was unwise but is it enough to absolutely destroy someone?”