This Morning presenters make feelings clear about Phillip Schofield’s TV return

It's 16 months since Schofield left This Morning

It was confirmed this week that Schofield will be starring in Channel 5’s new series Cast Away, which will see the presenter stranded on the coast of Madagascar for 10 days, with no crew and only a handful of cameras to document his experience.

This will be his first television appearance since he quit This Morning after admitting to lying about an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a colleague during his time as a presenter on the ITV daytime show.

In a post on Instagram following the confirmation of his TV return, Schofield said Cast Away was his “story of survival, both on a desert island and off it.”

He wrote: “Now you know how I spent my Summer! Alone for 10 days, no food, no water, no crew. My story of survival, both on a desert island and off it.”

It seems he has the support of some of the current stars of This Morning as well.

The Mirror reports that Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary and Josie Gibson have all 'liked' Schofield's posts on social media promoting Cast Away.

A TV source said: “Phillip certainly didn’t make many friends with his behaviour on This Morning in the final years but there is a degree of sympathy amongst some people for the state he finds himself in now.

“Celebs are not going to be lining up publicly to speak out for him but liking his messages is at least a more subtle way of wishing him luck on his new project. He will have been thrilled to see them like his messages.”

Speaking about the three-part survival show, Channel 5 commissioning editor Guy Davies: This isn’t just a survival challenge, it’s a chance for Phillip to look back over the last explosive 18 months of his life, and explore what happened.

“The audience will learn how he feels now about television and the future, as well as the past. It will be Phillip as we have never seen him before – unguarded, emotional and brutally honest.”

Phillip Schofield: Cast Away will air on Channel 5 in the UK on Monday September 30 at 9pm.