Phillip Schofield ‘sent brutal message to Holly Willoughby’ as career fell apart: ‘Brought me down’

Phillip Schofield thrust himself back into public eye with his three-episode stint on Channel 5’s Cast Away last week, which saw him opening up about the scandal that saw him leave ITV.

The former This Morning host stepped away from the limelight completely after a decades-long presenting career when he admitted to having had an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger colleague.

The May 2023 scandal caused a media storm at the time, which began with reports of a feud between Schofield, 62 and long-term co-host and friend Holly Willoughby, 43.

It has now been reported Schofield allegedly sent Willoughby a scathing text after his career ended, stating: “You brought me down”.

The Mirror reports the daytime TV star blasted Willoughby via WhatsApp the day before the news of his This Morning departure was confirmed to the public.

A friend told the publication: “As well as saying she had brought him down, he said he couldn’t believe his TV sister would do this to him.”

It’s been reported Schofield blamed Willoughby for not publicly defending him during reports of the suspected falling-out between the pair in the aftermath of his brother’s court case.

The publication claims Schofield asked his colleague for a supportive statement or a snap of them together but was ignored.

“He feels it was a simple gesture that might have saved his job and her refusal to do so effectively finished him off, believing in the TV chemistry was the bedrock of the This Morning format,” the source continued.

Willoughby reportedly told the disgraced presenter she didn’t want to “feed the narrative”.

As a result, Schofield felt Willoughby and This Morning bosses had staged a “very well-constructed coup”.

Last week, Schofield returned to screens for the first time since his This Morning exit and didn’t shy away from sharing his thoughts on the scandal.

During the programme, he reflected on what happened last year as he remarked: “I know what I did was unwise, but is it enough to absolutely destroy someone?”

Discussing the way in which his career ended, he added: “And the people who did it to me know.

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“They know how important that building was to me.

“They know that 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. It’s not a good enough reason to throw someone under a bus.”