Phillip Schofield could be returning to television nearly a year after leaving ITV after admitting to lying about an affair with a This Morning co-host.
The 61-year-old TV presenter previously stated that he had ‘lost everything’ and feared he would ‘never work on television again’ as a result of the scandal, but a major clue suggests he is planning a return to our screens.
Phillip is said to have hired his talent manager daughter Molly Schofield, 30, as his new publicist, and it is claimed she has been in constant contact with the media about stories about him.
Molly previously worked at her father’s former agency, YMU, which fired him after 35 years when he left This Morning, but according to her LinkedIn, she left the company in January.
Despite having worked at YMU for over eight years, her updated online CV now states that she is undergoing a ‘career transition’.
A YMU source told the Daily Mail: ‘Molly was popular at YMU but it was always going to be a little bit awkward working there after what happened.
‘Phillip was part of the furniture there, he was very important and very powerful so things must have changed a lot for her.
‘As recently as three weeks ago she was negotiating with the British media about stories that had been published about her father, acting very much as his PR.’
In the wake of the affair scandal, Phillip said Molly and his other daughter, Ruby Schofield, 28, had been a huge source of support.
‘If it hadn’t been for my girls last week I wouldn’t be here,’ he previously told The Sun.
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‘I know I deserve it but they said, “Don’t you dare, we’re here to look after you”. I feel embarrassed and ashamed.’
Phillip has been spotted on family outings with his daughters and wife Stephanie Lowe, who has been described as ‘incredibly supportive.’
A source previously said his daughters were ‘staunchly loyal to their dad, despite everything that has gone on.’
They added to the Mail Online: ‘Both Molly and Ruby have seen their father go through hell, they have been at his side as he has lost everything.’
Graham Norton delivered a heartfelt speech defending Phillip and Hugh Edwards following their recent scandals.
Edwards, a BBC presenter, has been accused of accepting payments for sexually explicit images.
Speaking at the Attitude 101 lunch, Graham said: ‘In the last 12 months, we saw the way the press dealt with Phillip Schofield, you saw the way they dealt with Huw Edwards, and you kind of begin to think, [jeez], have we moved the needle at all? Where is the progress?’
Lorraine Kelly, Phil’s former ITV colleague, has also spoken out publicly in support of the presenter this year.
In an interview with The Times, she said Phil was ‘doing all right and he will be all right, but it’s hard.’
She admitted she was ‘heartbroken’ when the scandal and subsequent fallout happened, saying: ‘It’s just a shame for the amazing career that he’s had, for it to end like that.’
Previously she had told Women & Home Magazine that both Holly Willoughby and Phil were ‘good people.’
‘I miss them. They’re smashing, they made me laugh a lot and every time I was on This Morning as a guest, they were a delight.’
Holly briefly returned to This Morning following Phillip’s departure, but left soon after when a horrifying alleged kidnapping plot surfaced; she has since returned to TV duties with Dancing On Ice in 2024.
Source My Celebrity Life.