Comments by "Ash Roskell" (@ashroskell) on "Schofield quits" video.

  1. I know very little about the Philip Schofield of these times. As a 55 year old, all of my memories of him are fond, as a dark haired young man with Gordon The Gopher as his side kick, revolutionising the presentation style of children’s television with a model that would be copied by other channels and then morning television. There would have been no Roland Rat (who appealed to adults mainly) without the Schofield-as-anchorman-between-children’s-shows innovation, for which I remain eternally grateful. Though I was aware of the, “Cue-Gate,” ahem, “scandal,” which looked to me like it was simply more of a general misunderstanding of how television works, I was not aware of his brother’s issues (indeed, I still have no idea of the details) until the last few days. The same is true of the apparent strain in his professional relationship between him and Holly Willoughby. When two popular presenters were meant to shoot footage of themselves passing the Queen’s coffin, which effectively meant that their producers, camera operators, sound engineers, etc, would also have had to cue with them, that would have been an unreasonable demand to make on their team, surely? If their job was to help the nation process a sad but inevitable event, that was a professional undertaking, of which they were one part, and I simply saw the whole misunderstanding as risible, rather than career shattering. Obviously, I can understand how the public becomes attached to daytime TV presenters, feeling like they have shared so much history with them as they did their housework, or studies with these people in their background. They become a part of the set dressing on the stage of people’s personal history plays. But, I was never a fan of couch based daytime television and I have to admit to being somewhat bemused by all the attention this is getting? Will Rishi Sunack be answering questions in The House about this soon? It almost feels like this couple have become more than icons, but a literal cultural identity in themselves? And it is as though it’s as painful for some commentators as a divorce? I hope to be understood that I am not asking these questions in an, “ironical,” tone, nor do I in the least bit wish to belittle a matter which is of great cultural importance to so many. But, I would like to understand it better? What is actually going on here? Why has he really quit? And why is the entire nation so fixed on this drama right now? Schofield always struck me as a good and decent man, to whom British television owes a debt. It is becoming clear to me that he has faced some truly unpleasant domestic issues around his brother, and struggles with his work place. But, were they so insoluble? Are we going to lose Schofield forever? That would be a bad thing. Like the C of E, though I never paid him much mind, it was always reassuring to know he was there. His influence on the British public has always been one of kindness, sincerity, humour and depth of feeling: all qualities we would do well to foster in our society. So I just hope I am not missing something of greater importance, by not having followed his day to day dramas more closely? I wish him well, from my less well informed position, and hope very much to see him return to television or the web in some other way.
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  2. Well, at least you have shone a light on much of the drama for me. I have been wondering why this apparent perfect storm of events in the life of one TV presenter has held the attention of the nation so much? I haven’t followed Schofield’s career since I was a child, and all of my memories of him and Gordon the Gopher are fond ones. That model of being the anchorman between children’s television shows was a stroke of genius that was copied around the world and recreated for adult audiences with creations like Roland Rat, for good or ill, you decide. But, despite only ever seeing him when he cropped up on a YouTube video that their algorithm pointed me at, I have never seen any of his shows. I knew, obviously, that he and Holly Willoughby were television Royalty, and that the whole, “cue-gate,” scandal was a risible misunderstanding by the general public about how television works. But all of these other issues, of which I’ve been vaguely aware in the last couple of weeks, just seem to have, “Private matters ripe for misrepresentation, incorrect assumption and darkly obtuse gutter press coverage,” written all over them. As far as I still know, Philip Schofield has contributed hugely to the tone and culture of our country since his early years in television, which owes him a debt in that regard. He has always struck me as a kind, thoughtful, humorous, sincere man and a good influence on the public therefore. Until I am disabused of that notion, with concrete evidence, I will continue on in my belief, hoping he will return to the public in some other forum of equal popularity. Even though I’ve personally seen very little of him, I am smart enough to know that our culture is better off with people like him influencing it. So, I just hope we haven’t lost him, and that the scurrilous rumours about him are nothing more than that, gutter press rumouring.
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  3. Do you think so? Why would that be? I’m asking sincerely, as I am somewhat out of the loop on this whole drama. But it seems to have the nation’s attention and I’m uneasy about what’s happening more broadly on a cultural level. To me, Schofield represents fond memories of childhood. He revolutionised children’s television, with an anchorman model that was repeatedly copied around the world. Would Roland Rat have even been a thing, had it not been for Gordon the Gopher? He has always struck me as a kind, sincere, humorous and thoughtful kind of man, who’s approach to TV presentation has been a good influence on the general public. But, not being a daytime TV sort of person myself, I haven’t followed him or his career with any great, “interest,” despite seeing him frequently crop up in many famous YouTube clips. What is really going on here? Is it as culturally important as some seem to think it is?
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