Eamonn Holmes has reignited his feud with former This Morning colleague Phillip Schofield, saying that if he was one of those who threw him “under the bus”, he was “very proud” to have done so.
Schofield makes his television comeback on Channel 5 show ‘Phillip Schofield: Cast Away’ on Monday evening — the first time the presenter will appear on television since leaving This Morning amid an affair scandal.
The 62-year-old said last year he had “lost everything” after admitting to the affair and said that the fallout had had a “catastrophic effect” on his mind.
An external review, revealed in December, found that ITV made “considerable efforts” to find out the truth about an alleged relationship between Schofield and a runner on This Morning in 2019 but was “unable to uncover the relevant evidence”, until the presenter’s own admission in late May 2023.
When it emerged that Schofield had the affair, Holmes said both he and his former wife Ruth Langsford had been “taken for fools” by their former co-presenter after comforting him live on TV when he came out as gay.
Speaking on GB News Breakfast on Monday, Holmes (64) said Schofield “deserves to be in exile” on the new Channel 5 show which sees his former co-presenter marooned on a tropical island off the coast of Madagascar for 10 days.
Phillip Schofield says ‘disaster has struck’ as wind destroys tent in Cast Away
“This man is addicted to fame, absolutely addicted to fame,” added Holmes, who was quizzed by co-host Isobel Webster.
“Well, if I’m one of the people who threw him under the bus, I’m very proud to have done it,” he continued.
Schofield’s new show will air across three nights from Monday to Wednesday in three 60-minute instalments.
In the programme, Schofield refers to himself as the “shamed, disgraced Philip Schofield, who had an affair”.
The former This Morning host said: “Strangely, I think another TV presenter or two might have done exactly the same thing. Difference is heterosexual. It’s not an unusual thing in the gay world for there to be a difference in age groups.
“That’s not that unusual in the straight world. But if that had been the case with me and it had been a woman, pat on the back. ‘Well done, mate.’”
While the presenter admitted he “has regrets” and acknowledged he “got something wrong” and “hurt the people” around him, he added: “I don’t know what price you’re supposed to pay and whether the price you’re paying is necessarily proportionate.”
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Holmes is so far the only one of Schofield’s former This Morning colleagues who has addressed his TV comeback and his reaction will come as no surprise after the pair’s long-running, bitter feud.
Schofield left ITV’s This Morning in May 2023 after admitting to having a relationship with a much younger male colleague, with Holmes describing Schofield as “a chief narcissist who didn’t know the names of any of his staff”.
He also called him “delusional” and “a liar” after the under-fire host issued a statement insisting there had been “no toxicity” at the daytime show.
The pair’s feud dates back to 2019 when Holmes’ now-estranged wife and This Morning co-host Ruth Langsford filed an official complaint against Schofield.
While working on Loose Women, Langsford was snubbed by Schofield when she was cut off mid-link while explaining what was coming up on the show during a segment on This Morning.
Later, in November 2021, Holmes and Langsford were controversially axed from This Morning after 15 years and replaced on the Friday show by Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond.
Holmes was particularly aggrieved about being let go by ITV, claiming he was never given an accurate reason.
Phillip Schofield: Cast Away airs on Monday, September 30, at 9pm on Channel 5.