Top 10 Most Heated Phillip Schofield Moments

Mum-of-four Deborah Hodge made the bold decision to share her finances with the public, telling people she spent a huge amount of money on her kids for Christmas. The issue people took was that this money was claimed through benefits, and many slammed Hodge for splashing out on dogs, iPads, and other luxury goods while thanking taxpayers for footing the bill. Phillip wasn’t happy with her attitude either; there’s no issue with being on benefits, but boasting about how much cash you have thanks to the benefits system, all because you choose not to work, is controversial, to say the least.

It’s not always a guest that manages to cause frustration on “This Morning.” Phillip was especially annoyed when a flowerpot that was part of the set dressing blocked his line of sight one day, stopping him from seeing the TV screens that showed what was going out live to the nation, as well as his teleprompter. He had to get up and show the viewers the placement of the flowerpot, which someone had put directly in front of the screen. In the end, he was forced to move the prop out of the way himself.

In 2012, Westminster was in the midst of a scandal involving child abuse and Conservative frontbenchers. Prime Minister David Cameron was interviewed by Phillip and Holly, and Phillip brought up the scandal and presented Cameron with a list he’d compiled of alleged abusers in Parliament. He asked Cameron to take his list on board and talk to the accused to find out whether they were guilty. But Cameron wasn’t having any of it; he expressed concern about Phillip’s list, which he’d just taken off the internet, and thought it might turn into a “witch hunt.” The show was even investigated by Ofcom for the intense stunt.

Even before he came out, Phillip was always a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights. This was never clearer than in an interview with teacher Josh Sutcliffe and lawyer Andrea Williams, who believes parents have a right to prevent their children from learning about LGBT issues. Sutcliffe was disciplined for misgendering a trans pupil, though when he kept misgendering the pupil throughout the interview Phillip called him out on it – he asked if it’s hard for Sutcliffe to address the student by their preferred pronouns. Phillip calls them “abhorrent” and points out that the Christians are actually disagreeing with the Church of England’s official line, though they won’t listen to reason.

In April 2020, President Donald Trump made headlines once again for claiming that injecting people with disinfectant could help cure COVID-19. He was condemned from around the world for these comments, including by scientists and by his old friend Piers Morgan – who he unfollowed on twitter as a result of criticism. Phillip Schofield wasn’t far behind, warning the viewing public that they absolutely should not inject or consume bleach or household cleaners for any reason, and insults Trump’s intelligence for recommending something like that. Though Trump later claimed he was being “sarcastic”, immense damage had already been done.

Scandalous aristocrat Lady C is no stranger to controversy, she proved that with her notoriously explosive outbursts on “I’m a Celebrity.” But she made her name writing an unverified biography of Princess Diana, then came out with a book about Meghan and Harry that was similarly unofficial. She was accused of basing her book on gossip, and Phillip asked how she could continue to write about the royals when they refuse to speak to her. She calls him ignorant, and he points out that many respected royal commentators have said she’s never even been seen with the royal family; she doesn’t take kindly to this.

Resident chef Gino appears on the show to teach people how to cook a risotto, but things get off to a bad start when Phillip jokes that if his bad mood persists, they’ll just call in Phil Vickery. Phillip continues to torment Gino by saying it’s not Gino’s kitchen and tries to take over the cooking from him, much to his annoyance. When he makes fun of Gino’s pronunciations, he thinks he might have pushed things too far and that Gino might hit him with a pepper. By the end of the segment, Gino’s almost completely run out of time to actually finish the risotto thanks to their bickering wasting so much time.

“This Morning” has always been a platform for people from all walks of life to share their beliefs and opinions, and Flat Earthers are no exception. Three self-proclaimed Flat Earthers joined Phil and Holly on the sofa to explain their views. Phillip makes it clear that he completely disagrees because he’s seen the curvature of the Earth himself. They accuse him of either outright lying or being confused about what he saw, maintaining that the interviews the show has done with astronauts were completely fake and staged in studios. Phillip can’t believe what he’s hearing and barely even entertains their strange ideas.

A rivalry was ignited when Noel Edmonds seemed to claim on twitter that positive energy can help cure cancer, and negative energy can cause disease. Despite his arguing to the contrary, the tweet brought up on screen clearly said just that, and he came to blows with Phillip over this statement. Phillip says asking a cancer sufferer on twitter whether his illness was caused by his negativity is insensitive, to say the least, but Edmonds is persistent in his beliefs, including that his own cancer was caused by a bad attitude. Edmonds later criticized Phillip as being “aggressive”, and the feud continued for years.

She became hated in the nation after a particularly contentious run on “Celebrity Big Brother”, crossing many of the housemates – particularly Coleen Nolan. She appeared on “This Morning” to explain her behaviour in the Big Brother house, though she says she’s only ashamed that she swore on telly rather than anything else she said or did. She didn’t think much of Phillip’s questions when he suggested she should clean up after her fellow celebrities, or that she’s exaggerating what happened. She later goes on the attack, arguing with Phillip and intimidating them so much that Holly hardly says a word.