Phillip Schofield: Ex-colleagues show their support after disgraced This Morning star's social media return

The ex-This Morning presenter has made a social media comeback, one year on from his shocking ITV exit. The TV star, 62, had been having an affair with a “much younger colleague”.

After a period of self-enduced exile, Schofield has made his return to the digital world by posting some photographs on Instagram - most of which have involved his dog. These photos have been shared sporadically over the past month, with Schofield still keeping a low-profile compared to his previous stardom.

On Friday (June 14) the presenter broke this streak by sharing a picture of himself, albeit covered in mud after his dog had made quite the mess. His full-length photograph showed Schofield’s white dressing gown caked in muddy pawprints, followed by another picture of it on the floor, destined for the washing machine.

Around this time last year, he quit This Morning and ITV after admitting to an “unwise but not illegal” relationship with a crew member on the daytime telly show. He had also been presenting Dancing On Ice and appeared frequently on other ITV projects too.

But with his return to Instagram, many of his former co-workers have actually showed a bit of moral support - although admittedly it’s not much. Alison Hammond, Josie Gibson and Leigh Francis are among the TV stars that have been “liking” his post on Instagram.

It comes as some in the entertainment space have been speculating about his return to TV, especially with This Morning’s alleged decline in viewership. Edward Coram James, CEO of PR company Go Up, said: “Schofield has always proven himself to be popular. He's now proven himself to be flexible and disciplined. Attributes that will be absolutely crucial for the likes of ITV in the years ahead, and attributes that ITV showed a total lack of in the way that they handled the initial scandal. To put it simply, ITV needs Schofield a whole lot more than Schofield needs ITV.”

Time will tell whether Philip Schofield will return to our TV screens - or whether his social media return is little more than keeping up appearances.