International TV Co-Editor
"This is a toe in the water for him" Phillip Schofield makes unexpected comeback on Channel 5 show
Phillip Schofield's meteoric return to television at Channel 5 last weekend has made headlines and the move has clearly attracted the attention of rival broadcasters.
At Channel 4's annual results briefing, director of programming Ian Katz criticised Paramount-owned Channel 5 for failing to properly address the former This Morning presenter, who resigned earlier this year after an inappropriate relationship with a much younger runner.
Phillip Schofield Cast Away launched on Sunday to a healthy 1.4 million UK viewers, with two more episodes still to come. The show sees the former morning show host take on physical and mental challenges as he unpacks his own controversial backstory. During the first episode, Schofield criticized the way he had been treated without challenge by his former ITV stablemates, including former co-host Holly Willoughby, who he was very close to before leaving. "If you're going to throw someone under a bus, you've got to have a bloody good reason to do it," he says in the episode. Deadline understands there was some unease among Channel 5 commissioners following the decision to greenlight Cast Away.
