Phillip Schofield now after ITV affair scandal - from 'cash panic to book deal'
This year's Dancing On Ice will be the first series Phillip Schofield hasn't hosted since it was first broadcast in 2006.
The 61-year-old television star co-presented the much-loved ITV show for eight years until it initially ended in 2014, and then returned to the series when it was revived in 2018. Phillip mainly hosted the celebrity skating competition, along with This Morning, with his former close pal and colleague Holly Willoughby.
Phil has now been replaced by Stephen Mulhern, who previously worked with Holly on Ministry of Mayhem. Speaking about their partnership, ITV's head of entertainment commissioning Katie Rawcliffe said: "Holly and Stephen are two of our best-loved presenters, so reuniting them 20 years after they first appeared on screen together to host Dancing On Ice marks the start of an exciting year for the show."
Was Phillip Schofield fired from Dancing on Ice?
Phil quit all of his roles at ITV in May 2023, including his co-presenting job on Dancing On Ice (Matt Frost/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)In May 2023, Phillip announced he had quit all of his roles at ITV, including Dancing On Ice, with immediate effect. It came after the presenter admitted to lying to his wife, management, legal team and ITV about a secret relationship with a younger male colleague. In a statement shared with the media, Phil said it was an "unwise but not illegal affair".
He said: "I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife. I have therefore decided to step down from the British Soap Awards, my last public commitment, and am resigning from ITV with immediate effect expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me."
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Phil apologised for misleading his lawyer and said he was "deeply sorry" for having lied. "I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning," he wrote. "Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over."
What is Phillip Schofield doing now?
Phillip caught up with loyal pal Vanessa Feltz in August, while Richard Madeley said he'd been in touch (SplashNews.com)In the days following Phil's bombshell revelation, he retreated to Cornwall to spend time with his mum and was later papped having lunch with pal Vanessa Feltz at West London restaurant, Little Bird, in August. This was the first time Phil, 61, had been seen out and about in London since stepping down from his ITV role last May.
TalkTV host Vanessa, 61, publicly, stood by Phil through the scandal, making the following statement in June: "I'm absolutely devastated on behalf of everyone. I've always been good friends with Holly and Phil, I've been on that show for years and years. I just feel very sorry for anybody who's been hurt or implicated in what's happened. I hope the show will continue."
In October, former This Morning host Richard Madeley shared that he had been in touch with Phil. "I feel very sorry for Phillip - it seemed a pretty savage outcome after 21 years," he said. "It seemed quite brutal to be honest. I took a paternal interest in it - I kept in touch, told him to take it easy and that it’ll be all right. He agreed. All things pass in the end."
Meanwhile, Phil's talent agency, brands and charities brutally slashed him from their books soon after his announcement. He reportedly hired a team of wealth management accountants to handle his financial affairs in August, as he sought to find ways to make an income beyond TV presenting.
It's understood that Phil is now on the books of Sedulo, a company that specialises in helping well-heeled clients grow their wealth. Documents filed to Companies House revealed Phil's real estate firm, Fistral Properties Ltd, had been registered with Sedulo's London offices, and it's likely this will be his primary source of income going forward.
Phil was allegedly approached by a leading book publisher for an informal chat about a potential deal, with the dad-of-two apparently keen to tell his side of the story. A source told the Mirror in August: "Phil has had several approaches by book publishers - including Hodder & Stoughton - about a new memoir, in which he talks more fully about This Morning, Holly, and how his career at ITV imploded. His account of this would be incredibly compelling, and no doubt lucrative, though at this stage money has not yet been discussed."
They added: "Phil liked the approach from Hodder and has spoken to them briefly. He made it clear in the conversation that he would like the chance to tell his story in full, and in some ways to draw a line under what has happened, but that he would not do so without the approval of his family. Stephanie and the girls have been his lifeline all this time, while he's been going through hell in private. So any further discussions are on hold until he has spoken to them, and they are happy with him going ahead."
Sources close to Phillip have reportedly been trying to encourage him to find a 'fulfilling life' away from showbusiness, with the former host said to be feeling miserable about his current career prospects. A source told the Mail Online: "Phillip has been very, very down recently. He doesn't know how he is going to work again. He is pretty sure that he is done. He keeps saying he will never work again. It's devastating for him to realise but he also knows that there is not a lot he can do about it. He doesn't know who will take him, he knows there is no way back to ITV or the BBC."
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