Phillip Schofield has ended his year-long absence from social media as rumours swirl about a potential TV comeback for the presenter.
The 62-year-old former host of This Morning has been off air since stepping back last May after admitting an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a much younger male staff member.
Now, after a year of silence, Schofield has returned to social media with a post celebrating F1 McLaren driver Lando Norris’ debut Grand Prix win.
Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the presenter shared a photo of his dog sitting on a bed watching the race, which he captioned: “Thankfully, Alfie is a big @f1 fan [heart emojis].”
The McLaren driver has appeared on This Morning several times and has a long-standing relationship with the show, with Schofield and his former co-host Holly Willoughby previously branding him their “adopted son”.
Last week, the 24-year-old made an appearance on the show as he discussed securing his long-awaited first F1 race win at the Miami Grand Prix on what was his 110th start in the sport with hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
Schofield’s post received likes from his daughters Ruby, 27, and Molly, 30, as well as his former co-host Josie Gibson.
The TV presenter’s social media update comes days after he was spotted sharing a laugh with Declan Donnelly after a four-hour dinner near their homes in London.
Donnelly’s wife Ali Astall was also at the night out and the pally images have stoked rumours that Schofield could be plotting a television comeback.
Ant and Dec have supported Schofield since his departure. Schofield has described himself as being “near suicidal” and has lost the friendship of former co-host Holly Willoughby.
The Sun published the photos which show the three in fits of laughter with Schofield taking his dog for a walk. The three appeared calm and relaxed on what is said to be their first rendezvous since the This Morning scandal.
Schofield has not worked since leaving This Morning and had said that he thought his career was over, seeing nothing ahead of him except for “blackness and sadness”.
Since announcing that he was gay in 2020, Schofield has separated from his wife Stephanie Lowe but the pair are not divorced and co-parent their two daughters.
“My girls saved my life,” Schofield said last year. “They haven’t left me for a month, they’ve been by my side for a month because they’re scared to let me out of their sight [...] and they said to me ‘Don’t you dare do this on [our] watch.’”
