18 April 2023 , 17:04
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This Morning’s Phillip Schofield has been accused of "intimidating behaviour" while working on the hit ITV show.
Nadine Dorries, who recently said she “will not miss being an MP” as she stood down and became a right-wing newspaper columnist, has claimed the TV presenter "scared" her as she recalled an interview she once had with him and Holly Willoughby.
Dorries, who has been Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire since 2005, didn't pull any punches as she laid into "finger-jabbing" Phillip for his off-screen actions.
The mum-of-three - who starred on I'm A Celeb in 2012 – even went as far as to imply that This Morning had been better off without the 61-year-old while he took pre-planned leave during his brother Timothy's sex abuse trial.
The former Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport wrote in her Daily Mail column: "I've been interviewed by Holly and Phillip several times, and off-camera found Holly an absolute delight and Mr Schofield rather up himself.
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"On one occasion, I witnessed what appeared to be somewhat intimidating behaviour.
Phillip took a leave of absence from his ITV morning presenting duties while his brother was on trial (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)"Holly was away, and as her stand-in looked down at her script — obviously wanting to see who or what was coming up next — Phillip glared at her and began to jab at her script with his finger. I don't know about her, but he scared me."
The 65-year-old stopped short of revealing who Phillip's female stand-in co-presenter had been, but went on to praise Holly for her chemistry with Alison Hammond who replaced him earlier this month.
Phillip took a leave of absence from his ITV morning presenting duties while his brother was on trial.
Timothy Schofield was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child over three years from October 2016, including two of sexual activity.
The 54-year-old was also convicted of three counts of causing a child to watch sexual activity and three of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
Timothy Schofield was found guilty of sexually abusing a teenage boy over a period of three years (PA)
Nadine Dorries claimed the TV presenter 'scared' her as she recalled an interview she once had with him and Holly Willoughby (James Veysey/TalkTV/REX/Shutterstock)Following the shocking trial and subsequent conviction, Phillip said: "These are despicable crimes, and I welcome the guilty verdicts. As far as I am concerned, I no longer have a brother."
Phillip made his return to the ITV studios yesterday for the first time since his brother’s conviction but presented from the sofa with Rochelle Humes after Holly was struck down with shingles.
MP Nadine went on to praise presenting duo Holly and Alison for "smashing it" in Phillip's absence, and added: "After his own difficult times in recent weeks, let's hope that a kinder Phillip returned to the studio yesterday."
Mirror Online has approached ITV and Phillip Schofield for comment.
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