When Phillip Schofield handed the
Prime Minister a list of names of supposed paedophiles on live TV last
November, he had no idea the ten-second stunt would end up personally
costing him tens of thousands of pounds.
Until now it’s been widely assumed that ITV would put up the majority of the libel payout to Lord McAlpine, whose name was briefly visible on a card that the 51-year-old presenter handed to David Cameron during his appearance on This Morning.
However, I’m told Phillip has agreed to split the £125,000 damages plus legal costs, meaning he will lose at least £62,500 from his £1million salary this year.
My ITV source reveals: ‘Phillip was
aware his job was on the line. He felt very grateful to ITV for the
significant public support they showed him at the time when there were
many calls for him to be sacked.
‘Obviously £60,000 is a significant amount of money, even for someone making as much as him.
'It shows how seriously he took the situation, but he has no plans to speak publicly about it. He wants to move on.’
Phillip presented a list he’d obtained from the internet of names of five former Conservative politicians apparently connected to the North Wales child abuse scandal.
But a technical fault was blamed when it accidentally flashed on screen, meaning McAlpine’s name was visible to over a million viewers.
Jonathan Dimbleby branded Phillip’s actions as ‘cretinous’ and McAlpine’s solicitor Andrew Reid said they had ‘destroyed my client’s reputation’.
For over two decades, Jennifer Saunders has been a darling of the BBC, creating French and Saunders and Absolutely Fabulous.
But her daughter hasn’t had the same success. I’m told Beattie Edmondson, 25 (whose father is comic Ade) has been axed from comedy series Live at the Electric.
Her comedy group Lady Garden were dropped after a tasteless Nazi-themed sketch had to be scrapped because it featured torture.
My BBC source reveals: ‘Beattie’s group didn’t cut the mustard with BBC bosses. The fact she’s Jennifer and Ade’s daughter couldn’t save her.’
But Beattie (above) was given another chance — the BBC offered her a role on new Ben Elton sitcom The Wright Way, which has been widely panned by the critics.
Jason
Manford will remain host of ITV panel show Good News, Bad News, despite
sending flirtatious messages behind his wife’s back for a second time.
In 2010 he sent explicit Tweets to a fan, resulting in his exit from BBC1’s The One Show.
But the show’s executive producer Jimmy Mulville insists: ‘It’s irrelevant. He’s a comic host doing a fine job.’
Adventurer Bear Grylls became a
worldwide star after drinking his own urine and eating ants to survive
in the wild, but now he is at the centre of a very showbiz bidding war
between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
The channels are battling to sign the UK’s Chief Scout after the former SAS soldier signed a deal with Discovery allowing him to work with UK terrestrial broadcasters for the first time.
‘This will turn him into one of the biggest TV stars in Britain,’ an insider predicts.
Broadcasters want to launch a version of his new NBC format Get Out Alive.
My source reveals: ‘He takes 20 pairs of ordinary people into the wild and sends them on brutal and dangerous journeys. They are fighting for a £500,000 prize so the stakes are high.’
ITV also want him to compete on I’m A Celebrity... and Channel 4 already have an agreement to make another series of Wild Weekend.
Meanwhile, Bear is expected to begin filming for another new show called Ultimate Survivor across Europe, Canada, Guatemala and North Africa next month.
ITV’s decision to bring back
Broadchurch for a second series was down to ‘people power’, according to
sources on the hit drama that came to a dramatic conclusion on Monday
night.
I’m told writer Chris Chibnall and ITV executives only ever envisioned it as a one-off whodunit, meaning planning for series two is at a very initial stage.
Most of the cast have no idea whether they will be asked back, although there is an assumption that the leads David Tennant and Olivia Colman have ‘expressed interest’ in returning.
Joe Sims, who plays Nige Carter, tells me: ‘I have no idea if I’ll be asked back. Most of the cast don’t yet. Of course, none of us wanted to be the killer because we all hoped the door would be left open to us if there was a new series.’
Meanwhile, the actor says the huge popularity of the drama has intruded on his everyday life.
‘I was in the street and a policewoman approached me to ask whether I’d killed a dog. I thought I was about to be wrongly arrested before I realised she was talking about my character on Broadchurch.’
Sadly, the last minute decision to bring Broadchurch back means the next series might not air until 2014.
Until now it’s been widely assumed that ITV would put up the majority of the libel payout to Lord McAlpine, whose name was briefly visible on a card that the 51-year-old presenter handed to David Cameron during his appearance on This Morning.
However, I’m told Phillip has agreed to split the £125,000 damages plus legal costs, meaning he will lose at least £62,500 from his £1million salary this year.
Doing the honourable thing: Phillip Schofield
has agreed to split the the libel payout to Lord McAlpine, whose name
was briefly visible on a card that the presenter handed to David Cameron
on This Morning
Libel pay out: A technical fault was blamed when
the list accidentally flashed on screen on This Morning, meaning Lord
McAlpine's name was visible
‘Obviously £60,000 is a significant amount of money, even for someone making as much as him.
'It shows how seriously he took the situation, but he has no plans to speak publicly about it. He wants to move on.’
Phillip presented a list he’d obtained from the internet of names of five former Conservative politicians apparently connected to the North Wales child abuse scandal.
But a technical fault was blamed when it accidentally flashed on screen, meaning McAlpine’s name was visible to over a million viewers.
Jonathan Dimbleby branded Phillip’s actions as ‘cretinous’ and McAlpine’s solicitor Andrew Reid said they had ‘destroyed my client’s reputation’.
Cut: Beattie Edmondson, 25, has been axed from comedy series Live at the Electric
But her daughter hasn’t had the same success. I’m told Beattie Edmondson, 25 (whose father is comic Ade) has been axed from comedy series Live at the Electric.
Her comedy group Lady Garden were dropped after a tasteless Nazi-themed sketch had to be scrapped because it featured torture.
My BBC source reveals: ‘Beattie’s group didn’t cut the mustard with BBC bosses. The fact she’s Jennifer and Ade’s daughter couldn’t save her.’
But Beattie (above) was given another chance — the BBC offered her a role on new Ben Elton sitcom The Wright Way, which has been widely panned by the critics.
In 2010 he sent explicit Tweets to a fan, resulting in his exit from BBC1’s The One Show.
But the show’s executive producer Jimmy Mulville insists: ‘It’s irrelevant. He’s a comic host doing a fine job.’
Adventurer: Bear Grylls is at the centre of a very showbiz bidding war between the BBC, ITV and Channel 4
The channels are battling to sign the UK’s Chief Scout after the former SAS soldier signed a deal with Discovery allowing him to work with UK terrestrial broadcasters for the first time.
‘This will turn him into one of the biggest TV stars in Britain,’ an insider predicts.
Broadcasters want to launch a version of his new NBC format Get Out Alive.
My source reveals: ‘He takes 20 pairs of ordinary people into the wild and sends them on brutal and dangerous journeys. They are fighting for a £500,000 prize so the stakes are high.’
ITV also want him to compete on I’m A Celebrity... and Channel 4 already have an agreement to make another series of Wild Weekend.
Meanwhile, Bear is expected to begin filming for another new show called Ultimate Survivor across Europe, Canada, Guatemala and North Africa next month.
Returning: ITV's decision to bring back Broadchurch for a second series was down to 'people power'
I’m told writer Chris Chibnall and ITV executives only ever envisioned it as a one-off whodunit, meaning planning for series two is at a very initial stage.
Most of the cast have no idea whether they will be asked back, although there is an assumption that the leads David Tennant and Olivia Colman have ‘expressed interest’ in returning.
Joe Sims, who plays Nige Carter, tells me: ‘I have no idea if I’ll be asked back. Most of the cast don’t yet. Of course, none of us wanted to be the killer because we all hoped the door would be left open to us if there was a new series.’
Meanwhile, the actor says the huge popularity of the drama has intruded on his everyday life.
‘I was in the street and a policewoman approached me to ask whether I’d killed a dog. I thought I was about to be wrongly arrested before I realised she was talking about my character on Broadchurch.’
Sadly, the last minute decision to bring Broadchurch back means the next series might not air until 2014.