ITV bosses appear to have cut an historic Phillip Schofield cameo scene from Emmerdale.
The 61-year-old appeared in the soap in 2005 in a special episode alongside his then This Morning co-host Fern Britton to interview Alan Turner (played by the late Richard Thorp). The pair questioned Woolpack owner Alan over the disappearance of his wife, Shelley Williams, but when a re-run aired last week, however, the scene was omitted.
It comes after the married father-of-two admitted to an “unwise but not illegal” affair in May, after stepping down from his roles with the ITV on This Morning and Dancing On Ice – both of which he presented with former best pal Holly Willoughby.
Fans reacted in bewilderment, meanwhile, as the episode appeared to show close-up shots of Fern, with Schofield nowhere to be seen.
ITV has cut a Phillip Schofield cameo scene from Emmerdale (Image: Getty Images)
A first fan asked: “Have they cut out Philip Schofield off Alan Turner’s appearance on This Morning on the #ClassicEmmerdale rerun?” Another pondered in similar fashion: “Erm did Phillip Schofield just get cut out of #ClassicEmmerdale ? Their 2005 guest appearance just aired on ITV3 and all of the shots were close up on Fern and yet there’s this image?”
A third declared: “It’s been very cleverly edited. How have they done the shot of Ethan stood by a monitor with only Fern in view?” And a fourth wrote: “I wondered how they’d get round having Phillip Schofield on. But I’m really impressed with the clever editing. Notice how they cut to the break after Fern asked the first question though. Schofield must have spoken after and they decided best not to show it at all.”
The scene saw Phillip and Fern Britton quiz late Woolpack owner Alan Turner (Image: ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Earlier this week it was reported that the younger male runner with whom Schofield had the affair has “been struggling” after signing a gagging order worth over £100k. The deal means that neither Phillip nor the lover will ever be able to discuss their relationship.
According to the Mail on Sunday, Schofield’s representatives confirmed that the arrangement was agreed and signed last year, and that Phil had forked out compensation for the man for the losses he had endured after the relationship went public.
Schofield left ITV in 2023 following a court case involving his brother (Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
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But since the deal was signed, it has been revealed that the male colleague is still trying to get his life back on track following the debacle. A former co-worker of the man said: “It turns out he has been gagged; it all seems very unfair.
“He has been struggling for some time, he had a lot of friends at ITV and we often think about him and hope he is doing OK. It has been tumultuous for him, just when he was getting his life sorted,” they added.