Phillip Schofield walks his beloved cockapoo Alfie as he's seen for the first time since former This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby launched her new YouTube show to mixed reviews

Phillip Schofield was seen for the first time on Wednesday since his former This Morning co-star Holly Willoughby launched her new YouTube show.

The ex-presenter, 64, cut a casual figure in a yellow linen shirt as he enjoyed the sunshine while walking his beloved cockapoo Alfie around London.

Phillip stepped back from the spotlight after departing This Morning in 2023 in the wake of an affair with a 20-year-old runner, which he branded 'unwise but not illegal'.

He has mostly kept a low profile since then apart from an appearance on Channel 5's Cast Away where he was isolated on an island close to Madagascar for 10 days without 'food or water'. 

His once-close friendship with Holly fell apart after his affair came to light, fracturing further when she released a statement saying she had felt 'hurt' by his 'lies'.

The pair had once been best friends, with their families even taking annual holidays in Portugal together, before their major falling out.

After three years out of the spotlight since she stepped down from This Morning in 2023, Holly has launched her new YouTube show, Together. 

She launched her first episode of the show last month, with desperate attempts at relatability thanks to swearing and unsubtle innuendos with first guest, The Devil Wears Prada star Stanley Tucci, 65. 

It failed to impress critics – with a one-star review comparing her show to Meghan Markle's attempt to enter the lifestyle realm with her own show last year. 

Last March, Meghan launched a Netflix lifestyle series, which was blasted, leading to The Guardian branding Holly's show 'a marginally less agonising With Love, Meghan' while The Telegraph stated: '[Holly's] dire show makes Meghan look good.' 

And 24 hours after it was posted to her YouTube channel, it had received 41,000 views. She now has 11,000 subscribers to the channel.

For context The Rest Is Entertainment launched in November 2023 and currently has 138K subscribers. It currently sits as one of the top three entertainment podcasts in the UK. 

Their episode went up on the same day as Holly's episode with Stanley. Their episode has accumulated 29,000 views.

Phillip accused Holly of 'betrayal' after suggesting she helped to orchestrate his departure from the ITV show because they thought his brother's trial and Phillip's affair with a young showrunner were both bad for her 'brand'. 

While the host – who came out as gay in February 2020 – is also said to have called his ex-pal 'The Witch' following the pair's departure from their presenting roles. 

Holly stepped down from This Morning after 14 years on the show due to the terrifying kidnap threat and subsequently took time out from the spotlight. 

Tensions between the pair reached further heights when Phil made his TV comeback on Cast Away, in which he referred to Holly as 'one of the three s***s of showbiz'.

Holly had previously vented her frustration at Phillip's lies when he tried to deny he was having an affair with the showrunner, before eventually coming clean by releasing a bombshell statement to the Daily Mail in May 2023.

He said: 'I am making this statement via the Daily Mail, to whom I have already apologised personally for misleading, through my lawyer who I also misled, about a story [sic] which they wanted to write about me a few days ago.

'The first thing I want to say is: I am deeply sorry for having lied to them, and to many others about a relationship that I had with someone working on This Morning. I did have a consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague at This Morning.

'Contrary to speculation, whilst I met the man when he was a teenager and was asked to help him to get into television, it was only after he started to work on the show that it became more than a just a friendship. That relationship was unwise, but not illegal. It is now over…

'I am painfully conscious that I have lied to my employers at ITV, to my colleagues and friends, to my agents, to the media and therefore the public and most importantly of all to my family. I am so very, very sorry, as I am for having been unfaithful to my wife...

'I am resigning from ITV with immediate effect, expressing my immense gratitude to them for all the amazing opportunities that they have given me.

'I will reflect on my very bad judgement in both participating in the relationship and then lying about it.'

At the time of his departure from This Morning, it was reported that Phillip's wife Stephanie Lowe had been left 'devastated' by the revelation and angry that her husband since 1993 had lied to her.

However, it was later revealed she is choosing not to file for divorce because she does not want him to 'fall any further' than he already has, and despite everything, 'the love is still very much there'.

His daughter Molly is now his publicist after she quit the talent agency that once represented her father.  

Phillip insisted he had not 'groomed' his young lover, despite first meeting him when he was 15, saying: 'Attraction is attraction. It's no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.

'There shouldn't be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in. We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school [he attended].'

He said the fallout from his admission that he lied about his affair with a younger male colleague had been 'relentless', revealing he has had suicidal thoughts and crediting his daughters for saving him.

He said: 'My girls saved my life. They said last week they haven't left me for a moment. They've been by my side every moment because they're scared to let me out of their sight. What is that like for daughters to have to go with something like that?

'And they said to me, 'Don't you dare do this on our watch. We're supposed to be looking after you.' If my girls hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here, because I don't see my future.'