CAST Away viewers were left stunned in the final episode after Phillip Schofield stripped off to run naked into the sea.
In the final episode of the shamed TV star’s comeback effort, Schofield decided to try skinny-dipping as his 10 days on a desert island came to an end.
Filming the experience he called for a fresh start by burning a list of people he wanted out of his life.
Setting down the camera, he said: “This next scene, I will shoot, but i need approval. Explicit approval. Thank you!”
He then charged into the water, putting his bare bum on display as he did so.
“I want to look forward with positivity and joy,” he’s heard saying in a voice over. “What an opportunity.”
Viewers in turn were left surprised at the development – and not entirely pleased.
Taking to X, one wrote: “Did we really have to see Philip Schofield’s naked bottom?”
“NO WAY have I just seen Phillip Schofield naked running into the sea,” added another alongside a string of laughing emojis.
“Skinny dipping is not something I wanted to see midweek,” complained a third.
While another suggested it could be his audition for another reality show, joking: “Oh Jesus. That’s his audition for the new series of Naked Jungle (formerly with Keith Chegwin) in the bag for Channel 5.”
The episode marked the end of a special three-day series for the presenter, who had disappeared from the limelight after abruptly leaving This Morning and ITV last year.
While he initially claimed he had resigned, on Cast Away he changed his tune and said he was actually fired by bosses, lying before as it was “neater” for everyone.
He blamed the arrest and conviction of his paedophile brother, Timothy, for him being edged out of the daytime TV programme.
In April 2023, Timothy was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child – including emotionally blackmailing a child into sex acts.
On CastAway, Schofield refused to name or acknowledge his sibling, telling cameras he had “no qualms” in handing him over to police and claiming he was “praised” for doing so by officers.
But he adds this marked the beginning of the end of his career, claiming: “Even though they knew all of the facts the papers painted me out to be some sort of complicit agent.
“That was when my world started to collapse. My poor mum, I had to tell her about that member of the family. To break that to your mother is tough.”
“Everything came to a head the day before he was sentenced when my agent called,” he continued, saying he got a phone call from his manager informing him he’d been let go from This Morning.
However, an ITV source has claimed that’s a lie, saying he quit when the fallout of the conviction – combined with his “unwise but not illegal” affair with a young runner on This Morning – became too much.
Schofield has vowed never to work for ITV again.
Cast Away is available on Channel 5 On Demand.
