For many television viewers, Phillip Schofield is a bit like Marmite – they either love him or hate him.
His fans were treated last weekend. In addition to copresenting Dancing On Ice with his wife, he was also featured in 2 of the ads.
We Buy Any Car, the second-hand motor company which Schofield is paid more than £1 million per year to endorse, is also the official sponsor of the show.
Its advert was shown five times around the hour-long episode – once before it started and during each of the four breaks.
For many television viewers, Phillip Schofield is a bit like Marmite – they either love him or hate him. Last weekend, however, his fans received a surprise. He was not only co-presenting Dancing On Ice but also appeared in two ads
While Schofield doesn’t physically appear on it, his voice does.
However, viewers were able to see him again during the second commercial. He spoke with a Lloyds Bank boss in an extra 90-second spot.
Schofield is paid £750,000 to front ITV’s weekday show This Morning, and is understood to earn another six-figure fee to host Dancing On Ice, which is also on ITV.
Schofield’s deal with Lloyds, which is part of This Morning’s Money Matters campaign, is also described as ‘lucrative’.
A source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘It doesn’t seem that he or ITV are doing anything wrong here but it is without a doubt extremely advantageous to Phillip.
‘It is most definitely a very profitable hour for him.
‘He rules things at ITV and will most likely have been involved in bringing We Buy Any Car to Dancing On Ice.’
While ITV and Schofield are laughing all the way to the bank, fans aren’t quite so taken with his television takeover.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘Phillip Schofield must make a shed ton of money, in the same hour he was on Dancing On Ice, the sponsor of DOI We Buy Any Car, and he was in another ad during the ad breaks.’
Another said of the 59-year-old: ‘Please tell me I’m not the only one sick of seeing Phillip Schofield on the TV.’ Schofield, who announced he is gay in February 2020 after being married to wife Stephanie for 27 years, is one of the most marketable faces on TV. His role as the face of Princess Cruises was shared with Stephanie. However, that changed in 2020 when the pandemic.
However, a year ago he was named ambassador of the Craft Gin Club and the adverts appear daily on ITV – at times during This Morning.
The father-of-two, who last year bought a £2 million house in Chiswick, West London, is reportedly worth £9 million.