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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Phillip Schofield branded 'cringe' after TV comeback ends with him stripping completely naked

Viewers were left unimpressed after getting to see a lot more of Phillip Schofield than they bargained for when he stripped naked for the final installment of TV comeback Cast Away.

The three-part documentary series in which the disgraced TV presenter, 62, was stranded on a desert island for 10 days came to a close on Wednesday night, much to the relief of those who had persevered.

The one-time king of daytime TV who stepped down from his role presenting ITV’s This Morning in May 2023 after admitting to having lied about having an “unwise, but not illegal” affair with a younger male colleague.

Cast Away marked his first return to screens since then and was intended as a redemption arc, but instead seemingly left many who tuned in feeling uncomfortable.

Schofield filmed the whole series himself and the results were quite chaotic with the final episode proving no different.

Phillip Schofield found himself without shelter for the night after accidentally setting his tent on fire (PA Media)

There were two particular talking points of the final installment.

First, was when he accidentally set his tent ablaze while camping alone on the remote island in Madagascar.

Schofield claimed that this happened as a result of him trying to fend off a supposed “big cat” and left him without any form of shelter overnight.

The second, was when he decided to strip completely naked and go skinny dipping after declaring that he had cleansed himself of all the things and people that he considered “toxic” to him.

This is certainly not what viewers had been expecting and many took to social media to voice their displeasure.

Phillip Schofield had hoped that Channel 5 series Cast Away would act as a redemption arc (PA Media)

“What a f***ing moron, this is cringe af,” declared one person on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Did any of us need to see him naked??” questioned another, adding: “Narcissist”.

“I actually cannot take this seriously… it’s just bad… bad, bad,” lamented a third.

During the series, Schofield claimed that he was thrown under a bus, and criticised some former colleagues - who he did not name - for not showing loyalty.

This prompted a reaction from Eamonn Holmes - who has been vocal about the fact that there has been no love lost between them in the past.

When told about Schofield’s comments on Monday's edition of his GB News show, Holmes made his feelings clear, saying: “'Well if I'm one of the people who threw him under the bus I'm very proud to have done it...

“This man is addicted to fame, absolutely addicted to fame.”

He later added that Schofield deserved “to be in exile”.

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