TV presenter Phillip Schofield reflects on how "dark" his life became and how his daughters helped him "take a step back from the edge" as he returns to television next week on Channel 5 in the UK.
The 62-year-old former This Morning presenter will be seen on screen in Channel 5's Phillip Schofield: Cast Away, his first appearance on a TV series since he left ITV in May 2023 after he admitted to an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male colleague.
The three-part series sees him marooned on a tropical island off the coast of Madagascar with a handful of cameras.
The first episode shows his shelter nearly being blown off on the first night, as well as him being lost at night and looking for crabs to eat.
Following his arrival at the small island of Nosy Ankarea, Schofield reflects on how the survivalist experience is helping to empty what he calls his "toxicity tanks".
Complete isolation. No comforts, no safety net. Phillip Schofield faces life on a remote island, learning to live in the unforgiving wilderness.
— Channel 5 (@channel5_tv) September 25, 2024
📺 Phillip Schofield Cast Away starts Monday 9pm on Channel 5 & My5 pic.twitter.com/tM9rJbEPWN
He says he wants people to "b***** off and let me get on with the quiet life that you've all given me", and then reflects on how "dark" things became.
Getting tearful, he adds: "I never, in my wildest, wildest dreams, thought that I would sit here and look at this and do this, discover something new every day.
"[It's] nice to discover new things about yourself, like for you, for you personally. You don't look online. People tell you what they think you're like."
The first episode begins with Schofield being asked why he wants to take on the challenge of being stuck on a deserted island alone, having to gather his own food, to which he responds: "I think there'd be an awful lot of people that hope I never come back."
As clips are shown of his career on children's TV, in theatre, and on This Morning including with former co-host Holly Willoughby, he questions if the "ultimate isolation can finally set me free", or if he will be "consumed by my inner demons".
He adds that This Morning was a "joy" and a "privilege", and he understands how he has been "lucky" during his more-than-four-decades TV career until it came to an end in 2023.
"When it came to a sudden, very abrupt end... you know, one minute you're there and then the next minute you're gone - you know what it feels like to be cancelled," he says.
"It's like the biggest grenade going off in your life, and you know you let people down, you've let yourself down, and it was unwise and [an] unprofessional thing to do. I will be forever sorry. I screwed up, I made a mistake, and I hurt the people around me."
Schofield says he has "no right", to say "poor me", pointing to his decades of success.
During the episode, he also says: "Cancellation is a funny old thing, because, if you're cancelled, then that's it. I assume you're dead. You can't do anything. everything you do is wrong."
When asked before travelling how he would feel if he quit Cast Away, he says: "Oh it is inconceivable that I would quit. I don't quit. I'm fired, but I never quit."
Phillip Schofield: Cast Away begins at 9pm on Monday on Channel 5 and will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time.
Source: Press Association
