When Phillip Schofield’s career imploded four months ago, his former co-host Holly Willoughby was left to pick up the pieces.
But as the mum-of-three is set to return to This Morning after a much-needed summer break, new rumours that Phil is planning an explosive “tell-all” book are doing the rounds.
Although the disgraced presenter’s agent denies the speculation, PR expert Dermot McNamara exclusively tells new that Phil would have “nothing to lose” by telling his side of the story, even if a memoir could mean re-opening the wounds that his former best friend Holly’s been trying to heal during her extended holiday.
“Phil may well reach a point where he thinks only a book will help to clear his name, or at least help change what the public think of him,” says Dermot, who is director of PR and talent agency Candid.
“A book, from his perspective, could offer a new angle on the situation and would be seen as holding more credibility than just another interview or newspaper story,” the expert continues.
“Holly’s reached a point where she’s ready to move on and leave this chapter behind her. She’ll likely want to move on to bigger and better things.
“Although she’s willing to cooperate with ITV’s investigation into what happened, that’s because it signals the end of months of stress. A book would drag everything back up again.”
ITV was forced to launch an investigation after floodgates opened when Phil admitted to having an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a young runner on This Morning. The TV network was thrown into turmoil when Phil subsequently quit the programme after more than 20 years and, at the time, he received very little support from Holly and other co-stars on the show.
It’s thought that Holly has “fully complied and co-operated” with the independent inquiry into the scandal.
And it’s no secret that the 42-year-old felt “betrayed” over Phil’s actions and even admitted to thousands of viewers live on air that she was left “shaken, troubled, let down” and was “full of questions” for “someone who was not telling the truth.”
But despite keeping a relatively low profile, no one could blame 61-year-old Phil for now being tempted to lift the lid on his version of events.
Dermot believes this would only hinder Holly’s hopes for a fresh start and she has every right to be concerned.
“Phil would undoubtedly have an agenda to clear his name, but Holly would be a difficult subject to write about for him. He wouldn’t want to talk too negatively about her, they were friends for years after all, but he would also run the risk of being too gushy.
“The potential risk is that the public would analyse just how close they were and raise questions of what Holly could have known about the situation.
“If it did transpire that she knew a lot more than she let on, Holly wouldn’t want that kind of information coming out,” Dermot continues.
It’s clear to see that Phillip has been worrying for some time what the future of his career could look like after admitting to the BBC that his time on TV was “over”.
“I’m not in television any more, I don’t know what I am even remotely – if I get through this. I don’t know even remotely how I move forward – what am I going to do with my days?” he told interviewer Amol Rajan.
So it comes as no surprise that Phil is working hard to win back the public, especially as they were very quick to turn on him following scandalous events.
Amid the condemnation and accusations, die-hard fans of Phil showed support on social media when rumours began that he could write his own bombshell version of recent events.
“It’s about time he was allowed to tell his side,” one commented, while another wrote, “Good for him, glad he’s putting his life back together.”
One also questioned, “Why not? What’s he got to lose?”
However, others pleaded for him to “stay out the limelight and spend time with his family” and expressed concern for Holly who, “will be worried about what’s inside”.
Of course, Phil has already written one truth-baring book, being paid a reported £1.5 million for his first memoir, Life’s What You Make It, just months after coming out as gay live on This Morning in 2020.
This could be a follow up bestseller that would certainly rock the boat for Holly and ITV.
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