Inside Phillip Schofield’s three year hell – from Queen queue-jumping to paedo brother’s trial and Holly rift
WITH his boyish charm and slick grin, Phillip Schofield was the king of daytime TV for more than two decades.
But the past three years have seen his private life descend into chaos and his once squeaky clean image tarnished in a series of scandals.
Now he has lost his This Morning job, endured a messy split with “TV wife” Holly Willoughby and suffered the fallout of his younger brother’s conviction for child sex offences.
The start of the upheaval in Phil’s life began in February 2020, when he bared his soul on the ITV show’s sofa to come out as gay.
His brave admission, in a rare Friday appearance, was greeted with support and kindness by his bosses and his audience.
But Phil, now 61, had wrestled with his feelings for some time.
He admitted he went into therapy as he was so confused about his sexuality, having been married almost 27 years.
The TV giant revealed: “I went to seek professional help, I sat down and poured out my heart.”
The star’s decision to embrace his sexuality, after “many heart-breaking conversations at home”, was the celebrity shock of the year, with the stress causing Phil’s weight to drop to just nine stone.
His marriage to wife Steph, mother of his two grown-up daughters Molly, 30, and Ruby, 27, had been seen as a successful and stable showbiz unit.
The couple, who regularly went on holiday with Holly and her husband Daniel Baldwin, 48, live apart but are still married and remain close.
They did Covid lockdowns together in Henley, Oxfordshire, though Phil has since moved into a £2million pad in Chiswick, West London.
But it is perhaps his break-away from his on-screen partner Holly, 42, that has been the most shocking.
In recent weeks the news cycle has been dominated by rumours of their recent feud — but those in the know say it all began three years ago.
Sources say a “fundamental shift” took place when Holly went to war with their agents, YMU Group.
She set up her own agency Roxy Management and took action against YMU over their claim for 15 per cent of her earnings, winning £1million in an out-of-court settlement.
Rumours of jealousy ensued, as Holly’s career went from strength to strength while Phil’s faltered.
Holly secured presenting gigs on BBC shows such as Take Off With Bradley & Holly on BBC1 until 2021, as well as presenting Freeze the Fear with Wim Hof last year.
A source on This Morning said: “There has been a frostiness between them for some time.
“They were always professionals on camera but often wouldn’t say a word to each other until ‘action’.
“Phil likes to be in control. Things were rosy when Holly was a young ingenue he could mentor but now she’s a superstar in her own right.
“He seemed a lot happier last month when Holly was off work with shingles and he was co-hosting with Rochelle, who is less experienced and clearly looks up to him.”
The pair’s strained relationship could not have been improved by “Queuegate”, when they were accused of jumping the line to see the Queen’s coffin in September 2022.
Members of the public who had waited all night to pay their respects to Her Majesty were outraged to hear the TV stars had been ushered straight into Westminster Hall.
The “queue-jumping” pair were then forced to issue a statement insisting they had viewed the coffin in their capacity as broadcasters.
The uproar is said to have had costly consequences for Phil, whose £1million advertising deal with We Buy Any Car lapsed shortly after the drama and was not renewed.
He had been the face of the car brand for five years, but was soon replaced in their TV ads by a series of dancing unknowns.
Yet Holly appeared untouched, hanging on to seven-figure deals with the likes of Marks & Spencer.
While Holly’s success may have caused tension, reports suggest Phil failing to tell her about his brother’s trial ended the coupling.
Holly is said to have been “deeply upset” to find out about Timothy Schofield’s sex offence charges only when her co-star took time off This Morning during the court case.
Depraved Timothy, 54, was found guilty at Exeter crown court of 11 sexual offences involving a child and was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday — with Phil dragged into the trial in March after his statement detailing Tim’s confession was published.
The TV star wrote how he “shouted at Tim he had to stop”.
With the many scandals engulfing Phil, it must have hurt to receive little support from showbiz peers.
His ex-colleague Eamonn Holmes last week called Phil and Holly a “broken fit” with “no chemistry”.
And Amanda Holden seemed to celebrate his ITV departure with a strongman emoji on Instagram.
As the once untouchable star faces an uncertain future, it is clear 21 years as the face of daytime TV has left Phil struggling for support.
Phillip Schofield's three years of hell
HOLDING HANDS AS HE SAYS ‘I AM GAY’: PHILLIP and Holly held each other and fought back tears when he revealed he was gay in February 2020.
The married star said: “I’ve made this decision which is essential for me and essential for my head.”
Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford looked on as he spoke.
OUTRAGE AT QUEEN ‘QUEUE JUMPING’: THE duo faced a backlash in September when they were accused of jumping the queue to see the Queen lying-in-state.
They had been let into Westminster Hall to film a segment for their ITV show.
But some viewers accused them of being disrespectful.
OFF AIR AS BRUV IN PAEDO TRIAL: PHILLIP took a break from the show as his brother Timothy faced a child sex offences trial in March.
After being convicted, Phillip issued a statement disowning Timothy, left.
He returned to the air with Rochelle Humes, who filled in as Holly was off sick.
RIFT BEGAN WHEN SHE QUIT AGENCY: TENSIONS between Phillip and Holly were first revealed by The Sun this month.
The rift — apparent in recent weeks, left — began three years ago when Holly left her and Phil’s agent to start her own agency.
It led to her becoming a bigger star than Phil.