Phillip Schofield, 62, looks downbeat in first selfie for over a year amid TV comeback rumours after ITV axe

The former This Morning star broke his Instagram silence back in May with a snap of his pet pooch Alfie and over the past few weeks has been regularly sharing dog-related updates.

But Sunday marked the first time he'd appeared amid rumours he's gearing up for an on-screen return after over a year away.

In the first of two posts on Sunday night, Schofield shot a broad smile for the camera while his face was painted with white and red colours to replicate the St George's flag.

He disabled the comments on the post meaning fans couldn't share their reactions to the smiley selfie, but the likes of Kate Garraway and hundreds of others "liked" the update.

However, the smiles were short-lived as a few hours later, Schofield took to the Stories function of the site after England had lost to Spain.

Following the 2-1 defeat, Schofield shared another selfie of him looking away from the camera and appearing a lot moodier than his first update.

Sadly for Schofield and England fans across the country, they could only look on helplessly as Cole Palmer's goal wasn't enough to see off the Spaniards.

Schofield's sporadic returns to the public eye come just weeks after it was alleged he felt "thrown under the bus" by ITV in regards to his exit.

After admitting to the affair and lying to ITV bosses, an independent inquiry discovered no evidence that higher-ups had knowledge of the relationship and there was no evidence of a toxic work culture at This Morning.

A source close to Schofield alleged to the Daily Mail that he believes he was "thrown under the bus", with the publication quoting: "Phillip firmly believes that he has been mistreated by ITV.

"He thinks he was thrown under the bus. From some of what he says, he feels he is the victim."

With Schofield making his presence felt on social media of late, rumours of a TV comeback have swirled.

The 62-year-old enjoyed a successful career on-screen for decades before his departure, being the face of This Morning, The Cube, Dancing on Ice, the British Soap Awards and several other projects.

Speaking on behalf of Betfred, Celebrity PR specialist Kayley Cornelius explained to GB News how these social media forays could be paving the way for a TV return.

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"After Phil’s controversy and the stark end to his This Morning career, there’s no surprise that he went straight into hiding for several months following the incident and left many speculating whether he would eventually return to TV or he would permanently call it quits," Cornelius began.

"However, as tensions start to die down, there are now signs to indicate that Phil could be teasing his return to the big screens, and it could be as soon as this year."

Cornelius cited "calculated" paparazzi shots with celeb pals as one example as to how Schofield is attempting to do this as well as the sporadic social media posts.

While nothing is confirmed at the time of writing, bookmakers are predicting an interview with Piers Morgan or a stint in the jungle on I'm A Celebrity as the most likely avenues for him to explore.