Phillip Schofield has been seen for the first time since his bitter digs at former This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby.
The ex-daytime star, 62, stepped out for a lavish meal in Mayfair this week, joined by a current This Morning regular Gyles Brandreth and his wife, Michele Brown.
Schofield was in high spirits with a smile on his face, laughing as the group left Brown’s Hotel arm-in-arm following a fancy dinner.
The disgraced presenter wore smart attire as he wore a navy blazer and jumper, paired with a white shirt and chinos.
Brandreth, 76, was also dapper in a shirt and blazer, while his spouse looked glamorous in a vibrant jacket.
This marks Schofield’s first public outing since it emerged he allegedly nicknamed Willoughby, 43, ‘the witch’ after she failed to publicly back him during his career downfall.
Last year, Schofield admitted to an ‘unwise’ affair with a much younger male runner, which happened while he was still married to his wife.
Consequently, he left ITV, was dropped by his management company and kept a low profile, his once tight bond with co-star Willoughby now nonexistent.
However, Willoughby is said not to be ‘batting an eyelid’ dignified over reports of her former friend and ITV co-star’s savage name for her.
A source told The Sun said it’s ‘like she couldn’t care less,’ adding: ‘Phil is coming across as incredibly bitter.
‘Holly knows who her friends are and they’re the people she pays attention to.’
Recently, WhatsApp messages emerged in which Schofield told his once-best pal that she had ‘brought [him] down’ when his work dried up.
He also reportedly said he ‘couldn’t believe [his] TV sister would do this to [him]’.
Schofield was reportedly hoping for a ‘simple gesture’ to dispel rumours of a feud between them, but Willoughby did not want to ‘feed the narrative’ that had engulfed their programme.
Until this year, Schofield had not appeared on screens for over 12 months but made a comeback with Cast Away on Channel 5.
The three-parter documented Schofield’s 10-day stay on a deserted Madagascar island over the summer, fending for himself and with only a camera for company.
It’s safe to say the series generated discussion, as Schofield revealed he would ‘never in a million years’ decide to return to daytime TV.
He also made a series of bombshell claims, blaming his brother for his departure from ITV, saying he was ‘fired for someone else’s crime’.
Timothy, 54, was convicted in April last year of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child.
Schofield expressed his satisfaction that ‘justice’ had been done but ripped into his former employer, saying: ‘Everything came to a head the day before he was sentenced when my agent called.
‘My phone rang, and I picked it up, “Mate, are you somewhere quiet?” which is never a good sign, “I’ve got a bit of a shock; I’m afraid you’ve been let go from This Morning.” What? “Yeah, that’s it; it’s done. You’re not going back on Monday”.’
Schofield argued it was due to ‘publicity’ and said he was ‘fired because of’ his sibling.
At the end of the show, Schofield teared up as he discussed his future, having hosted This Morning for the past 21 years.
‘Now, I’m not saying I’m done but, you know, never in a million years will I go back to daytime telly. I’ve lived a hundred TV lives,’ he told the cameras.
Despite the hype surrounding Cast Away’s premiere, the series failed to perform.
The final night drew in its lowest ratings of 988,000 viewers, a drop from 1.1million the previous night and shy of the 1.1m benchmark for the slot, according to Broadcast.
Cast Away is available to stream on My5.
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