Jeremy Clarkson 'delighted' by Phillip Schofield TV return as he issues staunch defence of disgraced star

Last week, it was announced Schofield, who has been away from the limelight since admitting to an "unwise but not illegal" affair last May, would be making a comeback.

He is set to star in Cast Away, which will see him surviving alone on an uninhabited island off of the coast of Madagascar for 10 days.

Trailers show him opening up on the scandal, in which he can be heard stating: "I know what I did was unwise, but is it enough to absolutely destroy someone?"

It came as the former face of daytime TV was forced to leave his long-held This Morning role and other TV gigs after he confirmed he'd had an affair with a younger colleague that he hid from bosses.

He remained away from the public eye for a long time before beginning to post once again on social media earlier this year.

Now, his TV return has sparked some backlash, with many - including some of Schofield's former colleagues - blasting the decision.

However, in a piece published in The Sun, Clarkson recalled how he had phoned Schofield following the initial scandal and has now defended his comeback.

The Clarkson's Farm star wrote: "When Phillip Schofield announced on morning television that he was gay, everyone rallied round and said how brave he'd been.

"But when it turned out that he'd actually done gay stuff, he was sacked, cancelled, eviscerated and swept into the bucket of history marked 'disgraced ageing TV stars'.

"I was actually quite cross about this, so even though I don’t know him at all well, I called him up and we had a long chat.

"It was like talking to a completely broken man because he could see no way back. I was therefore delighted to hear this week that he’s managed it."

He went on to argue: "And looking at the pictures, I couldn’t help thinking: Hmmm. Couldn’t we all do with a break like that? Forgive the change in direction here but right now, the world feels very ­unstable.

"Ukraine shows no signs of getting better and the Israeli thing looks like it might ­actually get worse.

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"Pretty much the whole of North Africa is a no-go area, America is descending into madness and, without wishing to sound like Enoch Powell, I do see some serious immigration issues coming Europe’s way in the near future.

"So it’s all very gloomy on the world stage and things aren’t much cop at home because our new government is definitely going to wreck our economy in the ­coming years.

"Doubtless, then, many of you will be thinking that maybe you too would like to put your head in the sand on a faraway island until the dust settles and things (hopefully) return to normal."

Clarkson will have to tune in to the first episode of Phillip Schofield: Cast Away when it premieres at 9pm on Monday to see how Schofield does on the island.