Holly Willoughby has kept her class despite digs from Phillip Schofield in his monstrous TV comeback this week.
The former This Morning presenter, 64, returned to television for the first time in 16 months on Monday night in a three-episode series of Cast Away on Channel 5 which saw him stranded on a deserted island for 10 days off the coast of Madagascar.
It’s been branded a ‘car crash’ and, for Schofield, it couldn’t have gone much worse. Schofield exposed himself as a ratings flop and his self-pitying rants suggested he has little remorse for the actions that ended his career.
In May 2023, Schofield admitted to lying about an affair with a much younger colleague and cheating on his wife Stephanie Lowe.
He’s consistently maintained it was ‘unwise but not illegal’ but doesn’t seem to appreciate quite how unwise it was.
During the first episode of Cast Away, Schofield and his family mocked Willoughby, making a dig at her statement when she returned to This Morning to address her co-host’s exit.
At the time she went viral for asking viewers ‘are you ok?’, and in Cast Away Schofield, his wife Stephanie Lowe and their two children Molly and Ruby cackled around the dinner table as he repeated Willoughby’s unfortunate catchphrase: ‘Are you ok?’
He also lashed out at ‘three s**ts’ in showbiz which he didn’t name and fumed at being ‘thrown under the bus’.
Naturally then, all eyes have been on Willoughby, who has kept a dignified silence about her feelings towards Schofield and has instead been letting us all know she’s having great time while he put the final nail in his TV career’s coffin.
Subtly letting everyone know she had better things to do than watch Schofield on Monday, she shared a photo of herself supporting her pal Tamzin Outhwaite at the EastEnders star’s play Abigail’s Party.
No mention of Schofe, but still it was a clear sign she isn’t going to waste a thought on him dragging her to a handful of viewers on Channel 5.
Will we ever hear Willoughby’s thoughts on Schofield’s TV comeback?
Probably not. Of course, she’ll be asked about it in interviews but don’t expect a response much stronger than ‘I didn’t have time to watch it’.
Holly and Phil were once the UK’s favourite best friends, hosting This Morning together for over a decade as well as Dancing on Ice.
He famously wept into her arms when he came out on national television, live to millions, and they made This Morning unbeatable competition at the NTAs.
Now it looks as though their friendship is firmly in the past, no going back.
