Phillip Schofield wants to “win over full public favour” with his appearance on Channel 5’s Cast Away, a PR expert has claimed.
On Wednesday, Phil announced his TV comeback more than a year on from this ITV exit and affair scandal. He’ll feature in Cast Away, which will see the star spend 10 days on a desert island off the coast of Madagascar.
Channel 5 said the three-part series has given Phil the “chance to look back over the last explosive 18 months of his life”.
Phil, 62, left ITV completely last year after admitting to having an “unwise but not illegal” affair with a younger colleague.
Phillip Schofield on Cast Away
Now, a PR expert has accused Phil of “asking for public forgiveness in the worst way”.
Celeb PR and crisis comms expert Carla Speight shared her thoughts on the news.
She said: “This is the wrong way to go about winning over public favour. But given the way he’s handled everything so far, it’s not a surprise. This is an attempt at a redemption arc, but it’s going to serve as a lesson in how not to perform this kind of PR move.
“He let us down massively and hasn’t once apologised authentically. Sure, he did the interview with The Sun. But he was hurt and angry at the time and that came through. He should have taken a minute to see it from the audience’s perspective. Most of us grew up with this man on our televisions. We trusted him and welcomed him into our homes, and he let us down.”
Cast Away on Channel 5
The founder of the PR Mastery App went on to say that Phil could face accusations of “playing up to the cameras” on Cast Away.
She said the show lacks “authenticity” since every single shot is “staged by him”.
It’s a sign he perhaps cares too much about public opinion, and he wants to win over full public favour.
She added: “He could have done a show reminding us of why we loved him for so long. Or a nostalgic show covering the hits we all loved from the eras he’s best known from. But instead, he has taken defensive control by force again, which didn’t end well last time.
“It’s a sign he perhaps cares too much about public opinion, and he wants to win over full public favour. But he’s asking for public forgiveness in the worst way with this paradisiacal setting and ultra-controlled narrative, which isn’t authentic or believable.”
Carla added that Phil has gone into this “PR move” hoping it could become a “smooth transition” into coming back to TV.
However, she warned it’s “already looking like it’s going to blow up in his face”.
Phillip Schofield: Cast Away will air Monday September 30 at 9pm on Channel 5.
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