Phillip Schofield thanks viewers for ‘kind messages' on telly return after paedophile brother is convicted of sexual abuse
17 April 2023, 11:59 | Updated: 17 April 2023, 12:09
Phillip Schofield today thanked viewers for their ‘kind messages and support’ after the presenter returned to television screens following his brother's sexual abuse trial.
The 61-year-old had taken a three week break from the This Morning sofa as his paedophile brother went on trial at the end of March, with Timothy Schofield later convicted of sexually abusing a teenager.
Returning to the daytime show on Monday, Schofield sat beside co-presenter and former The Saturday's singer Rochelle Humes as he wished usual co-presenter Holly Willoughby a speedy recovery.
Ms Willoughby, who is a close friend of with Schofield's outside of the studio, has been absent due to ill health in recent days after being diagnosed with shingles.
On April 4, Timothy Schofield was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019.
Schofield opened the show by thanking viewers for standing by him and sending "kind messages and support" during his television absence.
"I'd just like to say, it is really lovely to be back. I have missed the show and everyone here and also you," said Schofield.
"I wanted to say thank you for your kind messages and support which were really appreciated. Thank you very much indeed. On with the show... Shall we?"
Following his brother's conviction, Schofield took to Instagram to denounce his brother's "despicable" crimes, adding he "no longer" had a brother.
"My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected," wrote the presenter on social media.
"If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my sibling, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family.
The presenter added: "These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as Tam concerned, I no longer have a brother."
Timothy, a civilian police worker, went on trial at Exeter Crown Court charged with 11 sexual offences, which are alleged to have started when the alleged victim was a teenager.
During the trial, the TV star told the court in a written statement that his brother Timothy Schofield had phoned him in an agitated and upset state and Mr Schofield had invited him to drive to his home in London.
Mr Schofield said they spent several hours talking, including eating a meal at his home.
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"I was washing up and Tim was standing behind me and he said, 'You are going to hate me for what I am about to say'," Mr Schofield said.
"I said there was nothing he could say that would make me hate him. Then he said that he and (the boy) had time together and that last year they had watched porn... and (masturbated)".
"I turned and said, 'What did you just say?' He said it was last year and we were alone together."
Schofield is due to be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court next month.
