Dame Joanna Lumley has sent a message of support to fallen presenter Phillip Schofield - as the former This Morning star attempts to reincarnate his ruined TV career.
The Absolutely Fabulous icon, 78, was cast away off the coast of Madagascar in Girl Friday, a 1994 BBC programme that took its name from a character in Daniel Defoe’s island-set adventurer novel Robinson Crusoe. And this month, Schofield returns to screens for the first time in just over a year with a Channel 5 survival show called Cast Away.
Schofield is taking part in the three-part Channel 5 documentary special after being out of the limelight following his admission of an "unwise, but not illegal" affair with a younger colleague which ultimately destroyed his career at ITV and This Morning in 2023.
As he prepares to arrive on the island for Phillip Schofield: Cast Away, Dame Joanna sent him a message saying: “Listen, Phil these are the tips I’ve got, keep your knives sharp, spend much of the day trying to find wood otherwise you won’t be able to eat anything.
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“When I was on the island I made a pair of shoes out of my bra… and I would love to think that you could do something a bit challenging, and bring it back so we could all look at it. I shall be thinking of you all the time Phil, and actually I’m a little bit jealous, lots of love.” Schofield, 62, said in reaction: “Oh you darling, thank you so much, that’s amazing.”
When comedian Ruby Wax was left on an island in the Indian Ocean for 10 days, and had to document her own story with body and hand-held cameras, in the first series of the show, she was sent a letter from Dame Joanna. In the three-part show, Phillip Schofield: Cast Away, the former presenter will be in a similar situation, trying to find his own food and shelter to survive.
Phillip Schofield: Cast Away begins at 9pm on Monday on Channel 5, and will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday at the same time.
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