“Nobody cared that you are gay, Phillip…just that you’re an a***hole”
Jim Davidson has shared his own experience of working with Phillip Schofield – describing him as an “a***hole” who trampled on everybody to get to the top.
Schofield’s swift exit from ITV’s This Morning show after 20 years as a presenter has seen the star splashed over the front pages, as ex-colleagues wade in to put the boot in.
On his latest episode of This Week, comedian and Ustreme founder Jim Davidson, said: “Everyone is trying to guess the real reason he’s been sacked and I’ve got it…he’s an arsehole. That’s what I believe.
“He’s the type of chap who was determined to get to the top.”
Jim saw Schofield appearing in Dr Dolittle in 1988 and said that was the start of his road to stardom.
“He was quite good in that and he seemed quite friendly, and everyone was so surprised that this fella, who was really an autocue reader and a ‘presenter’, did really well.
“That was Phillip Schofield on the road to stardom and boy did he trample over everybody.
“The experience I had with him was after I had some grief with that guy I was in Hell’s Kitchen with.
“We fell out and the Hell’s Kitchen people edited it to make it look worse than it actually was. We all know how they do that, that’s no secret.
“But, anyway, I went on to television to explain my point of view and I got there to This Morning while there was an advert break and Phillip said, ‘Oh it’s lovely to see you. To get over your point of view is so important, Jim, and we look forward to interviewing you’.
“Then you hear, ‘Phillip 3,2,1…So, Jim Davidson why were you so nasty to that man who is gay. Are you homophobic?’
“He instantly turned like that, the little shit.
“So I never really got over that and I started to see the type of person he was.”
Schofield “stepped back with immediate effect” from This Morning amid a feud with fellow presenter Holly Willoughby. In a statement he said the programme had “become the story” and that he wanted to “do what I can to protect the show that I love” after rumours were rife that he and Holly Willoughby were barely speaking behind the scenes.
The rumour mill has gone into overdrive following his departure, with former colleagues coming forward to give their thoughts.
Among them was Eammon Holmes, who said: “Holly says ‘Oh, the couch will not be the same without him being there’. Well she wanted him not there. So what is she moaning about?
“Holly knows the truth, the story is with her.”
Jim added: “There’s lots of rumours about a young runner going around but I don’t believe rumours.
“If you’re gay, you’re gay. Who cares?
“What happened in Phillip’s mind was that he thought, ‘I won’t tell people I’m gay because they like me and might think I’ve cheated on my wife and children and they are victims of me being gay. If I’ve been gay for all of these years then I’ve lived a lie and convinced an audience of that lie’.
“He thought he’d damage his brand but nobody has a problem with people being gay, nobody at all, unless you’re barmy. I just don’t think he’s very nice.”
