Singer Chesney Hawkes has lashed out at Phillip Schofield after the former This Morning host took a brutal swipe at him in the ’90s.
Chesney rose to fame in 1991 after his breakthrough hit One And Only topped the charts for five consecutive weeks. At just 19, he was living the pop star dream. However, despite the song’s huge popularity, Chesney faced scrutiny from public figures such as Phillip and Piers Morgan.
Chesney Hawkes calls out ‘awful’ behaviour from Phillip Schofield
During an exclusive interview with the Mirror, Chesney recalled Phillip turning on him.
“Phillip Schofield… [bleep]. I remember he once did a [jokey] sketch at [these] awards in 1991 where he pushed me into Hell with a pitchfork. I remember that moment as I was only a kid, I was 19,” he said.
The award award ceremony Chesney was referring to was the Smash Hits’ Poll Winners’ Party, which Phillip famously used to host annually.
Chesney insisted that Phillip was “one of the first people who was very nice to me”. He continued: “We did all the TV shows like Live and Kicking in those days and the Radio 1 roadshows. And suddenly they turned against me.”
“I remember it well. I watched [the show] that year with my parents at home and they did this horrible thing where Phillip pushed me to the gates of Hell with a pitchfork. They had this guy dressed as me in a blonde wig with a mole. It was awful.”
ED! has contacted Phillip’s reps for comment.
‘It keeps happening’
Chesney described the backlash from his success as “really difficult” but had to “push it down and tighten the lid on it and had to think it was just water off a duck’s back”.
“I just thought I would write a few songs and carry on but it is not until later on that I thought it was proper [bleep] and it is not acceptable to do that.”
Chesney, now 53, recalled Piers Morgan having a go at him. In response, his dad once poured a pint of lager over him at the Ivor Novello awards in 1992 as payback.
Read more: Susanna Reid ‘snubs’ Phillip Schofield following his TV comeback
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