Television
Aged 19, Schofield moved with his family to New Zealand, where he made his television debut presenting the children's music programme Shazam! on 23 February 1982. He also spent two years working for the Auckland-based station Radio Hauraki.
In 1985, Schofield returned to England, where he became the first in-vision continuity presenter for Children's BBC on weekdays for two years from September 1985. He left the "Broom Cupboard" to present Going Live! on Saturday mornings between September 1987 and April 1993. He then moved to adult-orientated TV with various programmes for ITV, such as Schofield's Quest, Schofield's TV Gold and Ten Ball. From 1994 to 1997, Schofield presented Talking Telephone Numbers for five series, and the National Lottery Winning Lines programme for BBC One between June 2001 and October 2004.
His two current assignments with ITV1 are as co-presenter of daytime TV talk-show, This Morning (since 3 September 2002) and as co-presenter of the BAFTA-nominated celebrity reality television show Dancing on Ice (since 2006) alongside Holly Willoughby, and Christine Bleakley since 2011. Also, All Star Mr & Mrs with Fern Britton, and on his own since 2012.
Since 2006, Schofield has presented The British Soap Awards, between 2006 and 2008 he hosted the programme with Fern Britton but since 2009, he has hosted alone. Following the success of that show, and his continued spot on This Morning, ITV signed Schofield to an exclusive two-year contract (a so-called 'golden handcuffs' deal) in July 2006, alleged to be worth £5 million. The exclusive deal also meant he could no longer present the BBC nationwide quiz Test the Nation, which he had fronted for fifteen editions with Anne Robinson between 2002 and 2006. Schofield was replaced by Danny Wallace.
During the run of the ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, Schofield co-hosted the new ITV1 spin-off series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here! Exclusive with Sheree Murphy. He has also presented two series of Have I Been Here Before?, a programme in which a celebrity attempts to use regression to get in touch with a previous life.
In May 2008 Schofield's father, Brian, died from a long-standing heart condition, which led to Schofield's taking a break from presenting This Morning. John Barrowman stood in for him until his return.
Since April 2008, Schofield and his colleague, Fern Britton, have presented a revival of the ITV show Mr and Mrs. A celebrity version, three series have aired to date. In 2010, the show took a break but returned in 2012 for another series without Britton. Schofield now presents the primetime ITV show, The Cube, where contestants are given difficult and brain-straining tests. They face the 'Cube' to win up to £250,000. Since 2011, Schofield has co-hosted Christmas charity show Text Santa, alongside Christine Bleakley, on ITV1.
On 8 November 2012, Schofield interviewed the prime minister David Cameron on This Morning and presented him with a list he had obtained from the internet of five persons named as paedophiles in connection with the North Wales child abuse scandal. The names of several former senior Conservative politicians were said to be visible on the list. Cameron responded by warning against a witchhunt, "particularly about people who are gay". Schofield was widely criticised for this action, with broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby describing his behaviour as 'cretinous'. Schofield later apologised (via fellow presenter Ruth Langsford, putting the blame on the camera operator).
Read more about this topic: Phillip Schofield
Famous quotes containing the word television:
“Cultural expectations shade and color the images that parents- to-be form. The baby product ads, showing a woman serenely holding her child, looking blissfully and mysteriously contented, or the television parents, wisely and humorously solving problems, influence parents-to-be.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)
“Laughter on American television has taken the place of the chorus in Greek tragedy.... In other countries, the business of laughing is left to the viewers. Here, their laughter is put on the screen, integrated into the show. It is the screen that is laughing and having a good time. You are simply left alone with your consternation.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“Photographs may be more memorable than moving images because they are a neat slice of time, not a flow. Television is a stream of underselected images, each of which cancels its predecessor. Each still photograph is a privileged moment, turned into a slim object that one can keep and look at again.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)