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PHIL'S FEARS
Phillip Schofield reveals he is terrified to leave the house as he asks: ‘Will people spit on me?’
FALLEN star Phillip Schofield fears he will be spat on in the street after confessing to his affair with a younger colleague.
He admits today: “I do not know a time I will be able to walk out of the door.”
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Phil also insists he will never again use social media again.
But fans backed him, saying their opinions have changed since he responded to online accusations.
For 21 years, he was welcomed into the homes of millions of Brits each weekday morning.
Now the ex-This Morning presenter has revealed he’s living as a recluse — and fears he may never be able to step foot outside again.
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The silver-haired host, one of the most recognisable faces in Britain, says he can no longer nip down to Waitrose for milk in the wake of his affair with a younger colleague.
Trapped in a vicious cycle of self-loathing, he tells The Sun: “I do not know a time I will be able to walk out of the door.
“I don’t have any spirit. My friends tell me, ‘It will get better’. It won’t. Not now. Not this one.
“You watch all these layers of you slide away and slide away and slide away. The things that were dear to you. But I deserve it. It’s my fault. I deserve it.”
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Phillip’s decision to shut himself away from the public eye comes from a fear of how people will react to him.
He admits he has previously never suffered abuse in the street, but now fears being shouted at or spat on.
He asks: “Are they spitting on me because I had an affair at work and lied about it?”
Fragile Phil, who is being supported by his beloved and devoted daughters Molly and Ruby, says he is taking each day as it comes.
He adds: “I am getting by hour by hour. I have got my girls and my friends.”
Yesterday, the star broke his silence with an astonishing, soul-baring interview with this newspaper.
He followed this up with a broadcast interview with the BBC’s Amol Rajan, telling him: “I have lost everything. I see nothing ahead of me but blackness, and sadness, and regret, and remorse, and guilt.”
Phil also insists he will never again use social media again.
The star has been hounded on Twitter and Instagram by trolls who have repeatedly accused him of wrongdoing and spread vicious lies and malicious accusations.
The broadcaster has deleted all apps and silenced all notifications.
He says of social media: “Why would I ever, ever go back there?”
However, following yesterday’s Sun exclusive some of his fans have posted messages of support.
Others have said their opinions about him changed when they read his responses to allegations levelled at him on Twitter.
Yesterday TalkTV’s Piers Morgan tweeted in support, saying: “Unless Phillip Schofield’s ex-lover contradicts his version of events to The Sun and BBC, then it’s time to stop this relentless persecution of a guy who’s lost everything and looks right on the edge to me.
“He doesn’t seem to have committed any crime, and he’s not a Govt minister.”
After stepping down from This Morning last month, Phillip, who is separated from wife Steph, went on to admit to lying about his affair with a young lover.
In a statement, he said he’d deceived ITV execs, his management at YMU, and friends and colleagues including co-host, and best friend Holly Willoughby.
Phillip has since left all his ITV roles, been dropped from brand deals, and seen his wine range and collection of Boots products pulled.
The past two weeks, in other words, has been cancel culture on steroids. The attacks have been relentless and, in his own words, remorseless.
As well as the bitter ending to a 41-year career in TV, Phillip admits he is struggling with being dropped by charities associated with him, most notably The Prince’s Trust.
Being culled by a corporation is one thing, but a charity — something he wasn’t paid to do, and was deeply proud of — is truly devastating.
Welling up, he explains: “I understood why ITV had to take the decision they did.
“I understand why my management agency had to take the decision. I’d lied to them so they’d lied to ITV. I completely understand.
“The Prince’s Trust. It broke my heart but I completely understand.”
Phillip approached The Sun for this interview via his lawyer.
At an all-time low, he wanted to speak out on issues he believed had been portrayed inaccurately, particularly on social media.
Free from TV make-up, today he is a pale, defeated facsimile of his glossy daytime-telly persona.
Already slim, he looks to have lost around a stone. Breakfast, he said, was a mouthful of dry toast. When I cheerily offer him some Jelly Beans or salted nuts “for energy”, he lethargically bats me away. He is a shell of a man.
One subject he is keen to clarify is allegations he helped contribute to a “toxic” culture during his two-decade tenure at This Morning.
One-time co-stars Dr Ranj Singh and Eamonn Holmes both levelled accusations but Phil is adamant he is guilty of no wrongdoing.
Visibly distressed, he says: “I don’t shout at work. I’m a nice guy. Nobody threw their weight around. I snapped once at a producer and after the meeting I immediately found her and apologised.
“People and crew come on to This Morning, and say, ‘I’m so glad to be back here’.
“I had a director who hadn’t seen me for years and he stood in to do the show and then said after, ‘Oh my God, it’s so good to be back with you’.”
“My whole thing in TV is we’re not landing planes or fixing brains — what you’re doing, it should be fun. There wasn’t toxicity.” Following Phil’s departure, ITV called in a barrister to conduct an external review. Channel chief Dame Carolyn McCall will face questions from MPs next week.
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While Phillip says he understands ITV’s position, he admits he has been left devastated by the claims levelled at him by ex-colleagues.
Vape firmly in hand, he says: “If I have crossed you, and I know a couple of them. There are people who have come out against the show because they weren’t asked to go back on it. That’s not my choice. How vile to say we lorded it in that place.
“I adore those people. And I think to suggest anything otherwise is an agenda I don’t understand.”
During his 90-minute interview with The Sun, Phil addressed for the first time his brother Timothy’s jailing for child sex offences.
Their adored mum Pat, 87, has been left utterly heartbroken.
Ex-police civilian police worker Timothy was jailed for 12 years last month.
Phil says he has not spoken to him since the night of his arrest. Phil, who turned him in, said: “I was interviewed, I gave a statement to the police, who we have worked with incredibly closely throughout.
“I still get texts from the detective because we were so pleased with the result. We did everything we could at the right time.”
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Phil says he has no idea what the future holds but says he hopes one day he could return to a job in TV.
But he adds: “I don’t know whether anyone would want my name linked to them. “But that’s all gone. I have to come to terms with that.”
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