Philip Schofield

[rainbowstardrops]

Just seen on Instagram that PS is stepping down with immediate effect from This morning!
I mean, I'm not that bothered but there's been lots of speculation recently re his brother's conviction and the rumoured spat with Holly but I thought it would probably all blow over.
I'm sure he's got a bob or two is loaded but I'm still a bit surprised if I'm honest.

Exactly! When people say stuff like this, it says far more about them than 'society'

@Aquarius1234 how on earth did you get to Scott Mills?! Did you read any of the post apart from "DJ"? I think it also proves the entrenched homophobia theory.

@Lemieux3 @MalibuPine do you honestly not think there was homophobia in 1992? Do you believe that denying/playing down homophobia is a good thing to be spending time doing?

@GuitarRookie these threads (on PS) often seem to attract posters who use them as an outlet for their weird prejudices, unfortunately. Any out/'suspected' gay man is fair game to some people. It's disgusting.

In 1992, gay men were not considered to be some sort of pervert that couldn't work in children's television!

That is a completely different suggestion than acknowledging that homophobia did, and still does exist.

@Lemieux3 I don't believe you.

Holly needs to go.her pr team must be in overdrive and workin their socks off to protect her brand and her deals with M and S etc.she now comes across as she is cutthroat and ruthless- doesnt sit well with girl next door . she has to go too to keep TM. i thought lying over the queue skipping taking viewers for fools was just horrible and showed she wil say anything to save herself

Where is your evidence that in 1992, gay men were considered a threat to children?

@Lemieux3 I don't know where to begin with this, because it's either complete disingenuity or utter naivety, and I'm not inclined to pander to either.

But...

You're saying that it's not a longstanding trope of homophobia that gay men are a threat to children? Especially 30+ years ago?

I was a teenager in the early 90s and while homophobia was still about (friends were reluctant to come out as gay at school) no one was thinking that gay = child abuser.

I think when PS came out as gay and was lauded for being so brave, it wasn't brave at all - few people give a shit in this country if a person is gay. And it's a protected characteristic, gay people can legally marry, adopt children. It's not a stigma like it used to be.
Brave would have been if PS came out in the 90s, when attitudes weren't quite as welcoming.

I wonder is holly staging her exit.couldnt go same time as phil as they would be forever a team. if there is a NDA expiring she has a few weeks to sort her career

How things go for Holly now depends on whether there are new revelations about PS and if there are, how much she knew. This is the danger of having built they brand on the 'best friends' image.

The trouble for ITV is that they know the same things that Holly knows - if, for example, it transpired that PS behaved badly at work and Holly, along with all the bosses knew and did nothing about it, they are in the same boat as her when it comes to being complicit.

@Radyward exactly, her image is now of a mean girl.

It is not the reputation impact on her sons @MalibuPine. It is the safety of her sons around Schofield’s brother, as proximity and familial relationships have allegedly not previously been a barrier to his behaviour.

Christopher Biggins had a children's television show for years in the 1980's and there were hermits in the Andes who knew he was gay.

Having said that, I, too, was told that Phillip Schofield was gay in the mid-90's (by two separate male models from London). People knew, but I'm not so sure his wife knew. I do think it was a different prospect for some like Schofield to come out back then because his career was based on being some kind of boy-next-door pin-up. It's a bit like it being fine for character actors and comedy actors to come out as gay, but if you look like Rock Hudson then it will tank your career. (Not that Schofield looks anything like Rock Hudson!) Of course, once you've started the lie, it snowballs and it becomes a much, much bigger deal to come out with the truth.

It seems to me a hate campaign was waged by a daily newspaper and social media. The guy has done nothing illegal and many of the things he's accused of are rumours that we have no idea are true or not. It's a worrying state of affairs in so far as who knows when social media will take against one of us.

I'm not This Mornings target audience, I dislike Schofield, Willoughby, Hammond and Clark. I wouldn't care if the whole show combusted and we never saw it again. But mob rule is worrying. It's unpredictable and easily bored. And can turn its gaze on anyone.

@EsmaCannonball interesting points, yes, I hadn't considered some of that.

@MalibuPine that's just a mess of words. It's not even a word salad. It's a lasagne of bollocks.

I know that newspapers engage in scumbag behaviour but in this case the newspapers have known that Phillip is gay for decades and they kept completely quiet. Same with George Michael. Some of them keep quiet for ethical reasons but mostly they keep quiet because of 'you-scratch-my-back' deals with the powerful companies the celebrity is involved with. In the case of George Michael, he got arrested for cottaging and the truth became impossible to cover up any longer. In the case of Phillip Schofield, the press (I believe, The Sun) was offered the runner story, they approached Schofield and offered him a sympathetic telling in return for an exclusive, and he came out on his own live television show only as part of his crisis management strategy to squash the scandal.

This is a far more complicated story than the press being out to get Phillip Schofield. Like many celebrities, he has obviously lived in fear of the media while simultaneously colluding with them, gagging them, and using them for his own ends.

@MalibuPine erm, what?

@MalibuPine , what on earth are you talking about?