Loose Women star Nadiya Sawalha has slammed the former This Morning host Phillip Schofield for returning to the small screen. The 59-year-old presenter claimed she was left shocked when the trailer to his brand-new Channel 5 show circulated earlier this week.
Sharing her strong views about Phillip, Nadia was heard on the Coffee Moaning podcast saying she felt “embarrassed” for him. “[The trailer] was popping onto phones all over the place yesterday and everyone was aghast,” said Nadia.
Adding: “When I was first sent it, there was no message with it, so I thought it was a joke. I just couldn’t believe it. It took me so long to get to grips with it. Then I re-watched it,” Nadia continued.
“First of all, I cringed. If I’m honest, I absolutely cringed when I saw that video. I thought, ‘that is so embarrassing.’ That was my first feeling.” Meanwhile, she suggested that the broadcaster had ulterior motives branding him “clever”.
Phillip stepped down from his role on the popular ITV breakfast chat show back in May last year after 20 years. Shortly after it was announced he would not be returning to any other TV gigs with the network.
Doubting Phil’s motives for breaking his silence Nadia confessed: “He’s also very clever so I think he understands an audience and I think he knows how to speak to an audience. So I think, yes, he’ll be very, very careful.”
She was quick to reflect upon the scandal that saw his career come crashing down and said: “He lied to everybody at work. He left people to deal with his s**t, I feel, in my opinion.
“There are so many people he’s upset. There’s so much shame involved in this and before anybody dares say this is from a homophobic point of view – it is not, at all! I would be like this right across the board.”
Adding: “I have always stood up against people in positions of power and money and status. I will always stick up for the young person that was swayed by that.”
Phillip will make his anticipated return on Channel 5 next week in an exclusive three-part series.
After a year away from the small screen, he will recount his personal journey in the emotionally dramatic series titled Phillip Schofield’s Cast Away.
It is scheduled to run over three consecutive nights from Monday, September 30 to Wednesday, October 2. The series will showcase Phillip as he braves ten days and nine nights alone on a deserted island off the Madagascan coast.
The series promises: “Phillip is left alone with only a handful of cameras to document his own experience. This solitary island existence presents an opportunity for Phillip to confront the challenges of total isolation, the forces of nature and provides the time to battle within his own mind as he explores his own controversial story.
“While Phillip is alone on the island the production team will be stationed 30 minutes offshore, only to intervene in the event of an extreme emergency. Phillip’s mental health and physical safety is monitored as the experience progresses,” reports the Mirror.
