Phillip Schofield is back on TV in new Channel 5 series and he couldn’t resist a cheeky dig at former best pal Holly Willoughby

Phillip Schofield puts the boot into former best friend Holly Willoughby by mocking her famous This Morning ‘OK’ intro after he left.

Holly asked viewers ‘Firstly, are you OK?’ In the light of Schofield’s decision to quit the daytime show. On his new Channel 5 programme Schofield makes it clear there is no love lost between the pair these days. Sitting down for BBQ with his wife and two daughters with a glint in his eye, Schofield says: “If you’re okay, then we’re okay and I’m okay. Are you okay?”

It’s a clear sign of him mocking someone who was seen as his on-screen wife for many years, but who he is no longer friends with. And it is not the only time in the opening episode he appears to put the boot into his old employers and possibly other hosts like Holly. Biting on a piece of fruit he says: “It’s going through an angry bitter stage…like some television presenters haha.”

Schofield described leaving ITV as the “biggest grenade going off in your life”. The decision came after it emerged he had been lying for several years about an affair with a younger male staff member on This Morning. He described it as “unwise but not illegal” and quit in May 2023. He left saying “This Morning itself has become the story” before quitting ITV all together a week later.

Schofield is full of praise for his daughters Ruby and Molly who he says are the reason he is still here having had suicidal thoughts. Even after his affair he also remains close to his wife Stephanie and he continues to wear his wedding ring when he heads off to the tropical island off the coast of Madagascar for Phillip Schofield: Cast Away.

Phillip Schofield is cast away on an island off the coast of Madagascar ( 
Image:
PA)
Daughter Molly says everything that has happened has brought the family “closer”. She added: “We’ve seen him at his lowest times, but I’ve been so proud of him, and as a daughter to see the love that people had for him that when it’s taken away it’s just heartbreaking.”

She adds: “I never thought it would have gone the way it has but to have my parents still best friends…Im the luckiest person ever” Schofield, who is still wearing his wedding ring on the show, says: “Some families can adapt, some families can’t. Without them I wouldn’t be here. I still have the love of my family. Never wavered.”

Viewers will also hear from Schofield’s wife Stephanie who has seemingly stayed friends with him throughout everything. Stephanie said: “What people don’t realise if that they batter you but then there are other people affected.” She adds: “There’s no question by doing this you’re popping your head back up above the parapet for the very few horrid people that there are out there.”

Schofield appears to mock Holly on his new Channel 5 show ( 
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© Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited / Burning Bright Productions)
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.” He added that This Morning was a “joy” and a “privilege”, and he understands how he has been “lucky” during his more than four decades of 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 also said. “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.”