Phillip Schofield to make TV comeback on Channel 5

Phillip Schofield is set to return to television 16 months after his departure for ITV’s This Morning over what he called an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague.

The 62-year-old will appear in a Channel 5 special titled Cast Away, which will see him isolated on an uninhabited tropical island off the coast of Madagascar for 10 days.

Writing on Instagram, 62-year-old Schofield said the show will tell his "story of survival, both on a desert island and off it".

Schofield resigned from This Morning last May after 21 years on the show, saying at the time that he had "lost everything" after admitting to the affair, and that the fallout had had a "catastrophic effect" on his mind.

Complete isolation. No comforts, no safety net. Phillip Schofield faces life on a remote island, learning to live in the unforgiving wilderness.

📺 Phillip Schofield Cast Away starts Monday 9pm on Channel 5 & My5 pic.twitter.com/tM9rJbEPWN

— Channel 5 (@channel5_tv) September 25, 2024

In an external review constructed last December by Carolyn McCall, it was found that ITV made “considerable efforts” to investigate an alleged relationship between the presenter and a runner on This Morning in 2019, but was “unable to uncover the relevant evidence” until Schofield’s own admission.

In a statement about his Channel 5 show, he said: "This is most definitely a first for me and the only thing I felt compelled to do. It appealed to me on so many levels.

"I've recently had a lot of time to think about my life, what went right and what went wrong, but I've always had the safe arms of friends and family wrapped around me. This time it's just me, no phone, no comforts, no crew, and only lip balm as a luxury.”

Cast Away will air next Monday on Channel 5 and will continue until Wednesday.