GB News presenter Eamonn Holmes didn’t hold back when discussing his rival Phillip Schofield, proclaiming he is ‘proud’ to be among those who ‘threw him under the bus’.
Well-known for not shying away from expressing his opinions on the former This Morning host, Eamonn’s critical remarks surfaced following Phillip’s announcement of his television comeback 16 months after stepping away from his ITV roles amid controversy over an affair with a much younger colleague, which was described as “unwise but not illegal”.
During his morning programme, Eamonn remarked: “I believe he is where he deserves to be,” subsequently revealing: “I am one of the people who threw him under the bus, I am very proud to have done it.”
He continued by casting Phillip as fame-obsessed, saying, “This man is addicted to fame. Absolutely addicted to fame.”
These comments were made amidst the buzz of Phillip’s unexpected return to TV. Last week, Phillip disclosed that he secured a part in Channel 5’s Cast Away, tackling a 10-day survival challenge on an uninhabited island, armed with minimal equipment and several cameras.
His decision to leave his longstanding role previously stirred speculation, although he denied being “forced out” and voiced regret for misleading the channel, his colleagues, and his wife, reports the Mirror.
Following his time in solitary reflection on Nosy Ankarea, an isolated island off the shores of Madagascar, Phillip shared feelings of betrayal, stating he felt “thrown under the bus”. In the show, he recalled his early BBC days at 19, which led to his affection for the Television Centre the same location where ITV’s This Morning was later produced, and a place he dearly “loved being there”.
He remarked: “When what happened to me happened to me, it screwed up my favourite building in the world, and it pretty well blew away all those happy memories, and suddenly the place became hostile to me, and that was heartbreaking.
And the people who did it to me, know, 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.”
While huddled around the campfire, he reflected: “I was just thinking there as I was collecting wood. There are only three sh*ts.
“One of them is a coward who never stepped up in queue-gate. One of them is a coward because they never stepped up when I was being battered by one journalist….and the other one is just brand-orientated.
“Not what you expect, not what you think you’re going to get. When it all came to a sudden and very abrupt end, questions were asked about our toxic environment in parliament! “.
The ex-host admitted that although he encountered some “tricky people” the toxicity level was overstated. Venting during his solitary moments, he divulged: “When you’ve given so much to somewhere and been so loyal, to have absolutely no loyalty shown to you. I know what I did was unwise, not sensible. But is it enough to absolutely destroy someone? Literally destroy them.”
Phillip Schofield: Cast Away begins airs at 9pm on Monday on Channel 5, and will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time