As TV viewers continue to follow Phillip Schofield‘s journey of survival on a desert island, tonight’s episode will feature him mentioning his brother. The 62 year old former This Morning presenter has been documenting his experiences on the islands off Madagascar for Channel 5’s Cast Away.
During the 10-day challenge, Phillip has been sharing his emotions after leaving his ITV role last year due to an “unwise, but not illegal” relationship with a significantly younger colleague. The show was promoted as a genuine and intense physical and mental challenge, and in the first two episodes, Phillip reflected on the events that damaged his career.
However, he also expressed his feelings about those close to him, stating: “I miss parts of it. I miss most of it. There are bits I really, really don’t miss. You learn a lot about people. You learn a lot about people. I don’t miss that.”
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In the final episode, Phillip discusses his brother, Timothy, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison last year for sexually abusing a teenage boy over a three-year period. Timothy, a former civilian IT consultant for Avon and Somerset Police, was charged with 11 sexual offences involving a child between 2016 and 2019, including two counts of sexual activity with a child.
Phillip released a strongly-worded statement at the time, condemning Timothy’s actions as “despicable” and announcing that he was severing ties with his brother, stating, “I no longer have a brother”. In a social media post, Phillip expressed his primary concern for the victim and their family, saying: “My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected. If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family. These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother,” reports the Mirror.
Phillip also gave a statement to the police, detailing how he discovered his brother’s crimes.
According to the statement, Timothy had confided in Phillip in September 2021, after a meal at Phillip’s London home, when he was suicidal and in a state of extreme distress. The court heard that Phillip had shouted at Timothy after he admitted to engaging in explicit activities with a teenager.
Phillip has opened up about the moment he confronted his brother Timothy after learning about a deeply troubling incident. The former Dancing on Ice presenter described the intense exchange: “I was washing up and Tim was standing behind me and he said, ‘You are going to hate me for what I am about to say’. I said there was nothing he could say that would make me hate him. Then he said that he and (the teenager) had time together and that last year they had watched porn.”
Alarmed, Phillip recounted his reaction: “I turned and said, ‘What did you just say? ‘ He said it was last year and we were alone together. Tim said it was just this once. I told him it should never happen again. He then started to tell me about (the boy’s) body. I said, ‘F***, stop.’ I shouted at Tim that he had to stop. I didn’t want to know any of the details but he made it sound like a one-off.”
Phillip made his boundaries clear: “I said, ‘I don’t want you to tell me anymore’. I said, ‘You’ve got to stop, just never do it again. Regardless how that happened it must never happen again’.”
In his written statement, Phillip mentioned that he recommended Timothy seek medical advice and counselling ‘to take the edge off the anger’. A mere three months after their conversation, Timothy found himself under arrest.
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