Phillip Schofield’s comeback on Channel 5’s Cast Away could be a sharp PR move

It’s worth pointing out that Schofield has never been convicted of any crime. As he has said himself, his affair was “unwise but not illegal”.

Not everybody will welcome his comeback, however.

We’ve never heard publicly from the younger employee involved in his affair. And many feel, regardless of whether or not it was consensual, that there was a power imbalance Schofield should have considered.

There have also been no further public allegations made against him since he was last on air, which adds to the likelihood that he will be able to make some kind of comeback.

It’s also notable that Schofield has returned to social media recently.

The presenter took an almost year-long break from posting on Instagram following his exit from This Morning, and returned about four months ago.

When he did, he smartly restricted who can comment on his posts, limiting the amount of trolling he might have received.

That suggests he has been gently laying the groundwork for some kind of TV return.

As Schofield says in the trailer for Cast Away, the series is “my chance to tell my side of my story”.

“I know what I did was unwise,” he reflects. “But is it enough to absolutely destroy someone?”