Phillip Schofield has sparked some backlash from other famous faces with his controversial TV comeback.
The latest is TV personality to blast the move is Kerry Katona, 44, who has reignited her feud with the former This Morning host, 62, by making her feelings clear about his appearance in Channel 5’s Cast Away.
Schofield was seen again on screens this week for the first time since May 2023, when he admitted to having had an affair with a younger colleague and keeping it from ITV bosses.
Former singer Katona touched on her infamous interview with Schofield from 16 years ago as she hit out as his “self-indulgent” TV return.
Writing in OK! magazine, she penned: “If I’m honest, I think it’s a really self-indulgent move to have him alone on a desert island, playing the pity card.”
She went on to add: “He talks about living with absolutely nothing on this island, but then he goes back to his big house, wealth and home comforts. I think it’s really tone-deaf. Saying that we’re obviously all watching it, aren’t we?”
It comes years after Katona accused Schofield of “belittling” her in a This Morning interview from 2008.
She claimed Schofield had been “condescending” when he probed into her slurred speech live on air, adding she didn’t seem “right”.
Katona isn’t the only TV star to have publicly criticised Schofield for the shock move. Loose Women star Nadiya Sawalha, 59, labelled him “embarrassing” over his Cast Away stint.
She remarked “[The trailer] was popping onto phones all over the place yesterday and everyone was aghast.
“When I was first sent it, there was no message with it, so I thought it was a joke.”
Speaking on the Coffee Moaning podcast, she continued: “I just couldn’t believe it. It took me so long to get to grips with it. Then I re-watched it.
“First of all, I cringed. If I’m honest, I absolutely cringed when I saw that video. I thought, ‘that is so embarrassing.’ That was my first feeling.”
Her comments came shortly after the announcement last Tuesday confirmed the former presenter would be taking part in the Channel 5 show, which sees him spending 10 days alone on a remote island off the coast of Madagascar.
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In a trailer for the programme, he tells cameras: “I’ve been cast away on a desert island. It’s my chance to tell my side of my story.”
He can also be heard adding: “I know what I did was unwise, but is it enough to absolutely destroy someone?”
In the latest episode, Schofield tells critics they can “f*** off” during a rant about the response to the scandal last year.
It came after he declared he has “quit” TV and wouldn’t want to return to his previous career because of the “fake” people he encountered.
Meanwhile, his former This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby appears to be distancing herself from the updates, making it clear she wasn’t watching Schofield’s debut episode on Monday.
