Phillip Schofield has been notably absent from This Morning this week, as his brother stands trial on charges of alleged sexual offences against a schoolboy.
Regular co-host Holly Willoughby was joined by Alison Hammond and Joel Dommett for episodes while Phil has been away. Alison and Dermot O’Leary will now fill in during the Easter holidays. This means Phil won’t be back on our screens for at least another two weeks.
Phil hasn’t spoken about his return to the show, or his brother. However, the official This Morning Instagram account has broken its silence and rallied round its long-standing presenter.
Phillip turns 61 today (Saturday April 1) and the This Morning team took to social media to wish him a very happy birthday. The post came after the jury in the trial of the TV star’s brother Timothy Schofield were told they will retire to consider their verdicts on Monday.
Phillip Schofield turns 61 in midst of brother Tim’s trial
An Instagram post shared on the This Morning account earlier today sent Phil virtual greetings. The upload contained an image of the co-host smiling in the This Morning studio. The pic also displayed a falling confetti effect, and was accompanied by other snaps of Phillip with Holly and Alison.
Happy birthday @schofe, from everyone at This Morning.
The post’s caption read: “Happy birthday @schofe, from everyone at This Morning.” Fans, however, were unable to add their birthday wishes to the upload as comments had been disabled.
Phil did, however, appear to break his social media silence, as he hit the like button on the post. He’s been absent from social media since the trial started.
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Phillip Schofield brother trial latest
Timothy Schofield, 54, faces 11 charges of alleged sexual offences against a schoolboy. The offences were allegedly committed over three years from October 2016. He is currently standing trial at Exeter Crown Court. He denies all 11 counts.
On Thursday (March 30), Timothy, a civilian police worker, was in tears as he told the court he phoned his brother and told him he was “on the verge” of taking his own life.
He denied performing sexual acts on the teenager. Schofield told the jury he had watched pornography with the boy, who he insisted was aged over 16 at that time. He also said they had masturbated while sat apart.
Recalling speaking to his famous brother on the phone before driving to his home in London in September 2021, Schofield told his barrister Peter Binder it was “correct” he was on the verge of killing himself. “I was so alone,” he said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, closing speeches were heard from Schofield’s lawyer and the prosecution. Robin Shellard, prosecuting, told the jury that the evidence from the teenager was that the abuse started when he was 13.
The prosecutor suggested that he was “restrained” in his account. It was alleged: “If the boy was making it up, if he was a person motivated by hate and spite, he could have made it much worse.”
And Peter Binder told the jury: “You must be utterly dispassionate. This case boils down one person’s word – that of the boy – against the other – that of the defendant.”
Read more: This Morning presenter shake-up as Holly Willoughby takes break amid Phillip Schofield’s absence
This Morning airs on ITV, weekdays, from 10am.
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