Phillip Schofield’s ITV co-star blasts ‘cringe and embarrassing’ TV comeback

ITV star Nadia Sawalha has slammed Phillip Schofield’s TV comeback after saying she ‘doesn’t feel sorry’ for him.

The former This Morning host, 62, has largely remained out of the spotlight since leaving the ITV show in May last year after admitting to having an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a younger colleague.

After initially giving two bombshell interviews soon after, Phillip has not been seen on screens since, but this week announced he will be starring in the Channel 5 show Cast Away, where he will be marooned on an island off Madagascar for ten days.

‘My story of survival, both on a desert island and off it,’ he announced, adding: ‘I know what I did was unwise, but is it enough to absolutely destroy someone?’

Reactions to his TV return have been mixed, with Loose Women star Nadia now making it clear she is less than impressed.

‘[The trailer] was popping onto phones all over the place yesterday and everyone was aghast. When I was first sent it, there was no message with it, so I thought it was a joke,’ she said.

‘I just couldn’t believe it. It took me so long to get to grips with it. Then I re-watched it.

‘First of all, I cringed. If I’m honest, I absolutely cringed when I saw that video. I thought “that is so embarrassing”. That was my first feeling,’ she added when speaking on her Coffee Moaning podcast with husband Mark Adderley.

Nadia, 59, went on to share she believed Phillip already had enough opportunities to share his story.

‘He’s also very clever so I think he understands an audience and I think he knows how to speak to an audience. So I think, yes, he’ll be very, very careful,’ she said.

Speaking about the scandal that saw Phillip leave ITV, Nadia didn’t hold back and questioned why everything ‘has got to be dredged up again’.

‘He lied to everybody at work. He left people to deal with his s**t, I feel, in my opinion,’ she said.

Admitting she didn’t think a TV comeback was on the cards for Phillip, Nadia said she had been ‘naive’.

‘There are so many people he’s upset. There’s so much shame involved in this and before anybody dares say this is from a homophobic point of view – it is not, at all! I would be like this right across the board,’ she explained.

‘I have always stood up and against people in positions of power and money and status. I will always stick up for the young person that was swayed by that.’

In the episode Nadia also said Phillip had been ‘long in the tooth enough to know that this is going to stir everything up for all the people he’s lied to and all the people he’s hurt’.

‘I don’t feel sorry for [Phillip]. I feel sorry for all the people that are in the fallout around him.’

When revealing his role on Cast Away, Phillip explained why he chose to participate in the self-filmed series.

‘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. My story of survival, both on a desert island and off it,’ he shared on Instagram.

Channel 5 has teased the show as an ‘authentic and intense physical and mental challenge’.

‘This solitary island existence presents an opportunity for Phillip to confront the challenges of total isolation, the forces of nature and provides the time to battle within his own mind as he explores his own controversial story,’ it added.