Phillip Schofield cuts brother Timothy out of his life after child sexual abuse

Phillip Schofield is back on TV after leaving This Morning last year

In his first TV appearance after leaving ITV's This Morning, Phillip Schofield was spotted enjoying a barbeque with his family, without one prominent family member. Coming back to TV, Phillip is taking part in the new Channel 5 series Cast Away, where he sat surrounded by his closest family.

In May 2023, the former presenter's younger brother, Timothy Schofield was sentenced to 12 years in jail. Timothy was found guilty in Exeter Crown Court, of sexually abusing a teenage boy over the course of a three-year period, reports the Mirror.

Timothy followed in his brother's footsteps by presenting on local radio shows in Plymouth and Exeter during his career. He also worked as a civilian IT consultant for Avon and Somerset Police before his convictions.

He was charged with 11 sexual offences involving a child between the years 2016 and 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child. Exeter Crown Court heard how the unnamed survivor had been left feeling 'numb to life' in the wake of his ordeal.

Timothy's conviction came at a time of turbulence for Phillip, who stepped down from his This Morning role last year. Phil admitted to an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a younger colleague and apologised to his family for the deceit.

At the time of the sentencing, Phillip condemned his brother's actions as 'despicable' in a strongly worded statement. He also decided to cut ties with Tim by stating: "I no longer have a brother."

In a social media post at that time, Phillip expressed his stance, saying: "My overwhelming concern is and has always been for the wellbeing of the victim and his family. I hope that their privacy will now be respected.

"If any crime had ever been confessed to me by my brother, I would have acted immediately to protect the victim and their family. These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother."

Phillip had been reported by Mail Online as going the extra mile for his sibling, even taking time off work to tend to Timothy when he was severely ill in 2015 due to complications from his type one diabetes. Phillip, who had helped with bringing Timothy back to health, joyously called his recovery 'the best Christmas present ever'.

Yet, as Phillip told the authorities, their bond wasn't the regular kind one expects between brothers. He clarified: "I don't have a relationship with Tim like a brother because there are seven years between us and I moved away when he was 10."

Phillip, in his police statement, relayed that Timothy had confided in him in September 2021 after a meal at Phillip's London residence. At this point, Timothy was suicidal and 'in a state of heightened agitation'.

The court heard how Phillip had shouted at Timothy after he confessed to having 'watched porn... and [masturbated]' with a teenager.

Phillip told Timothy that he 'didn't want to know any of the details but he [Timothy] made it sound like a one-off', before making it clear to Timothy that 'it should never happen again'.

Phillip said: "I was washing up and Tim was standing behind me and he said, 'You are going to hate me for what I am about to say'. I said there was nothing he could say that would make me hate him. Then he said that he and (the teenager) had time together and that last year they had watched porn... and (masturbated).

"I turned and said, 'What did you just say?'. He said it was last year and we were alone together. Tim said it was just this once. I told him it should never happen again. He then started to tell me about (the boy's) body. I said, 'F***, stop.' I shouted at Tim that he had to stop. I didn't want to know any of the details but he made it sound like a one-off.

"I said, 'I don't want you to tell me anymore'. I said, 'You've got to stop, just never do it again. Regardless how that happened it must never happen again'."

According to the written statement, Phillip had advised his brother to seek medical help and counselling to manage his anger. However, three months later, Timothy was arrested.

In a victim impact statement read out in court by prosecutor Robin Shellard, the victim said: "Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed."

The survivor continued: "I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I don't have the ability to emotionally react to what is happening."

Timothy denied the allegations, claiming that he and the teenager had only watched pornography together and masturbated separately. During sentencing, Mrs Justice Cutts praised the boy's bravery while condemning Timothy's 'self-pity', stating: "You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification. It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did."

The judge added that the victim felt coerced into doing what Timothy wanted, feeling trapped and unable to escape or report the abuse for many years. "You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him. Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy. In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself. I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity."

During the time of the trial, Phillip Schofield took a break from This Morning, fuelling rumours of an alleged fall-out with co-presenter and close friend, Holly Willoughby. Addressing the rumours in a direct comment to The Sun, Phillip said: "As I have said before, Holly is my rock. We're the best of friends as always, she is an incredible support on screen, behind the scenes and on the phone.

"Holly has always been there for me, through thick and thin. And I've been there for her. The last few weeks haven't been easy for either of us."

He added: "My family went through a real ordeal, and Holly's support throughout meant the world to me as did the support of my bosses at ITV, my editor Martin Frizell, and the whole This Morning family, including our amazing viewers. And of course Holly has herself been ill with shingles. Whatever happens, we still have each other to count on."

However, it seems that Phillip and Holly's friendship has significantly cooled down over the past year. They haven't appeared on TV together since Phillip's sudden departure from This Morning.

In a recent episode of Cast Away, Phillip expressed his frustration about the lack of support he received after leaving the show. He said: "When what happened to me happened to me, it screwed up my favourite building in the world, and it pretty well blew away all those happy memories, and suddenly the place became hostile to me, and that was heart breaking."

He added that those responsible for his departure knew how much the show meant to him. Phillip emphasized that ambition is not a valid reason to betray someone, stating: "And the people who did it to me, know, they know how important that building was to me. They know that when you throw someone under a bus, you've got to have a really bloody good reason to do it. Brand, ambition is not good enough. It's not a good enough reason to throw someone under a bus."

He then made a comment that some interpret as directed at Holly: "People just went who I thought were my friends and they just went. And that's like 'what the hell?'."

Phillip continued, "It is hard to come to terms with the fact that the people you thought you knew were not the people that you knew. They had completely different agendas."