Phillip Schofield reveals some unexpected facts about himself ahead of festive fundraiser

HE can be cripplingly shy and regards being a stranger at a party as his “worst nightmare”.

And he’s as English as can be but reckons he has a Scottish past.

He’s also social media-mad, but despairs over its trolling fury.

Sound familiar? No? It didn’t sound that way to us either when iN10 caught up with TV’s

Mr Unflappable, Phillip Schofield.

Although he’s been a fixture on our screens for more than 30 years, from This Morning to The Cube, All Star Mr & Mrs to the forthcoming Text Santa, it seems there’s much we don’t know about telly’s silver fox.

What is very familiar, though, is that smooth voice and beaming smile as we settled down for a chat after his regular This Morning slot. Phillip Schofield hosting All Star Mr & Mrs (ITV)

But behind that affable and effortless confidence lies a very different side to the 53-year-old.

“If I walk into a room and don’t know anybody, it’s my worst nightmare,” he says.

“I can be confident and comfortable in front of a camera talking to millions of people.

“But if I go to a party and get there before my wife or my mates and I don’t know anyone, that’s about my worst situation to be in.” To read more celebrity news, click here So, what’s behind that, a painful shyness?

“Yes, it must be. I hate it. I desperately look for someone I might even vaguely know.

“I walked into a party once and the only person I knew was Mark Charnock from Emmerdale. He’s so tall he stood out like The Shard and I made a beeline for him.

“He must have thought, ‘Sod off, I’m talking to other people’ but I wouldn’t go until I found someone else I knew.”

Phillip can’t help but smile as he recalls the soap star’s bemusement. And there’s another Emmerdale involvement coming up.

We’re here to talk about ITV’s now-annual festive fundraising epic, Text Santa.

It’s on December 18 and the evening will be the culmination of Christmas Jumper Day.

Ant and Dec are just a couple of the other big names involved.

(YouTube, ITV)Last year Phillip undertook a 24-hour marathon of broadcasting in the run-up to the main show, but this time it’s a little different.

Come Tuesday he’ll be on a different type of telly blitz.

“I’m going to be appearing on every ITV show between six in the morning and 10 at night,” he explains.

“It’s a bit like Where’s Wally?

“I’ll be wearing a different Christmas jumper in each but you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled as it can be quite subtle.

“Going to the Jeremy Kyle Show was fascinating and I went to Manchester for Judge Rinder and Leeds for Emmerdale.

“The big challenge was I’m A Celebrity.

“There was a discussion about whether I’d go to Australia although if we did that I wouldn’t have been able to do the other live shows that day.

“But I have another involvement,” he says, cryptically.

There’s no doubting Phillip’s commitment to the cause this year’s charities are Macmillan Cancer Trust, Make-A-Wish and Save The Children.

One challenge during last year’s marathon was stuffing as many fish eyes as possible into his mouth for I’m A Celebrity’s sister show.

“That was deeply unfair!” he insists with a gleam in his eye.

“I’m really competitive and was sure I could beat it.

“But the fish eyes they gave me in London were like giant nuclear killer cod eyes. You couldn’t possibly get many in. I felt really cheated.

“I love Text Santa. We’re the new kids on the block. There are some juggernauts which I’ve been proud to work for in the past such as Comic Relief and Children In Need.

“At ITV we wanted something we can all get involved in and I love the simplicity of texting.

“Everybody does it and we can’t survive without our thumbs these days.”

Phillip’s phone is also frequently pressed into use on social media he has nearly four million Twitter followers although not actually as frequently as he used to.

“When I first joined it was a lot more fun than it is these days,” he sighs.

“Twitter has been hijacked by the outraged brigade. Everyone is looking for something they can get cross or disagree with.

“Once I said what a beautiful day it was and people said I was lucky it was sunny. Then I said I had a day off, they said I was lucky to have that. Finally I said I might go for a walk with my wife, and someone actually tweeted that I was lucky I had legs!

“You can’t say anything without upsetting somebody.

“Twitter is great fun and a very useful tool but I wish it would lighten up a bit.”

Phillip and wife Stephanie live in Oxfordshire with their two kids Ruby and Molly.

It’s handy for the This Morning commute but Phillip has a hankering for life north of the Border.

Phillip Schofield with wife Stephanie (PA Archive)

He married Stephanie at Ackergill Tower in Wick in 1993 and it obviously made a lasting impression.

“I love Scotland I have a feeling that in a former life I may have been Scottish.

“Ackergill is one of my favourite places on the planet.

“As well as getting married there we’ve been for Christmases and Burns Nights.

“And during a summer we got all our mates up and took it over bonfires on the beach and watching the sun go down.

“It’s just down the road from the Old Pulteney whisky distillery, so there’s always a glass on the go.

“I adore the place.

“And when I was doing theatre I spent 10 weeks in Edinburgh and they were among my happiest times ever.”

Wine even more that whisky is a passion for Phillip who is a renowned expert with thousands of bottles at home.

“I’m not a snob,” he insists. “You don’t need to analyse the hell out of it.

“It’s a fantastic hobby for my mates because they know they never have to bring a bottle.

“But I always think it’s sad when people think it’s snobby to smell a glass. Half of what you’ve paid for is the gorgeous smell. I love seeing someone who doesn’t know I’m watching giving a quick sniff. I think, ‘Gotcha!’”

Phillip has been a fixture on the This Morning sofa alongside screen wives including Fern Britton, Amanda Holden and Holly Willoughby since 2002.

There have been highs, lows and no shortage of controversies along the way. And it’s a show he obviously still feels hugely attached to.

“I’m good at knowing when I’ve reached my peak and when my time is done,” he confides.

“But I must enjoy it as I can’t stand early mornings. I hate getting up at 5.30am with a passion.

“And this is my least favourite time for doing it. I know there are a lot of people who get up for work at that time and don’t get picked up in a nice car and sit on a sofa in a warm studio.

“But ever since I was a kid I’ve been a late night person who doesn’t like going to bed.

“I must still get a kick out of it to pull my backside out of bed at that time in the middle of winter.”

Such is his viewer appeal that should that ever change . . .

“This Morning takes up a lot of the year and I’ve turned down some amazing opportunities to make travel and wine specials around the world,” he adds.

“Just the other day a production company offered to take me anywhere to make whatever I wanted.

“I couldn’t do it I haven’t the time.

“Maybe in the future I’ll do slightly more of those and start doing telly for me.”

Viewers can tweet their Phillip sightings this Tuesday to @ITVTextSanta using the hashtag #PipKnit. Those who do this within 10 minutes of each appearance will be entered into a draw for the chance to win a trip to London to watch Text Santa’s live TV show on December 18.