Phillip Schofield reveals he hasn’t spoken to his paedophile brother Timothy since he was arrested

Phillip Schofield has revealed that he has not spoken to his convicted paedophile brother since he was arrested.

In May, the former This Morning presenter’s brother Timothy Schofield, 54, was convicted of 11 sexual offences involving a child between October 2016 and October 2019, including two of sexual activity with a child, after a trial at Exeter Crown Court. 

Phillip turned his brother in to the police after learning of his crimes and revealed he has not spoken to him since the night of his arrest.

He has also said that he still gets texts from the detective who helped bring Timothy to justice as ‘we were so pleased with the result’.

Timothy Schofield was sentenced to 12 years for a slew of child sex offences including abusing a teenage boy he groomed.

Phillip Schofield (left) with his mother Pat (centre) and brother Timothy (right)

Talking to the Sun, Phillip said: ‘I was interviewed, I gave a full statement to the police, who we’ve worked with incredibly closely throughout.

‘I still get texts from the investigating detective because we were so pleased with the result.

‘We did everything we could at the right time.’

Timothy was sentenced to 12 years for a slew of child sex offences including abusing a teenage boy he groomed. 

The civilian police worker from Bath, Somerset told the jury while giving evidence at his trial in April that he had watched pornography with the boy who he insisted was over the age of 16 at the time. He claimed they had performed sexual acts while sitting apart, but the jury found Schofield guilty on all counts with a majority of 10-2 after more than five-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Avon and Somerset Police later dismissed Schofield, who had been suspended from his job at the force’s headquarters in Portishead after being arrested and charged, without notice.

During the trial, jurors heard that Schofield told his elder brother Phillip in September 2021 that he and the complainant had watched pornography together.

In a statement to the trial read by Mr Shellard, Phillip recalled how he received a phone call from his brother asking if he was ‘able to talk’. 

‘He said that he was on the verge of killing himself. He said that his head was in a mess and everything was a mess. Tim was clearly very upset and I asked him if he could drive. Tim said yes he could, so I told him to drive to my home in London.

‘Around two hours or so later Tim arrived and I could see he was in a state of heightened agitation. It was distressing to see him in such a state. He was as angry as I’ve ever seen him. The conversation was about how angry he was. He was furious, angry, ranting and raving.’

Phillip tried to ‘change the conversation’ and asked what he was watching on TV and his brother was in ‘floods of tears’ as he described the series Pennyworth.

Phillip said it was usual for him to cry when telling stories but ‘this was crazy’. He went on: ‘We ended up having dinner and I was washing up. Tim was standing behind me and he said you are going to hate me for what I’m about to say. I said there’s nothing he could say that would make me hate him.

‘He said [the alleged victim and him] had their time together and last year watched porn.

‘I turned and said, ‘What did you just say?’ ‘Schofield then said it ‘was a moment we were together’. Tim said it was just this time and I told him it should never happen again.’

The defendant then started describing the body of the alleged victim, and Phillip shouted: ‘F***, stop!’.

‘I told him that this had to stop,’ the statement continued. ‘I just didn’t want to hear any of the details, but it sounded like it was just one time.

‘I said I don’t want you to tell me any more. Regardless of how it happened, it must never happen again.

‘He said it was just [their] time. I said ‘What the hell is that?” Schofield said he never spoke with his brother about it again.

Describing the distance between the siblings, he said: ‘I don’t have a relationship with Tim like a brother because there are seven years between us and I moved away when he was ten.

‘I never spoke about what Tim told me ever again.’ 

Timothy covers his face as he leaves Exeter Crown Court on May 30 during the trial 

Mrs Justice Cutts, sentencing Schofield at Bristol Crown Court in May, told him: ‘You exploited his innocence at this stage of his life for your own sexual gratification. It was wrong on every level for you to behave as you did.

‘He felt forced to do what you wanted, trapped and unable to escape. He felt he couldn’t tell anyone and did not do so for many years. You took away his ability to be the teenager he should have been – carefree, relaxed, happy. It is clear to me that you became utterly obsessed with him.’

She added: ‘Your actions and behaviour have had a devastating impact on the boy. In doing what you did, you thought only of yourself. I have not heard a single word of remorse from you, only self-pity.’

In a victim impact statement read to the court by Robin Shellard, prosecuting, the boy said he felt ‘numb to life’ following the abuse.

He said: ‘Before Tim was arrested, I felt I had no freedom. I often felt panic, stress and fear. I felt like I was trapped in a loop of fear and anxiety of the abuse happening again.

‘It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt safe. It was only after Tim was arrested that I felt free – free to be me, free to be happy, free to be relaxed.’

The boy added: ‘I feel more blunt, I feel more bitter, I feel numb to life. I know I should feel really happy or really sad but I don’t have the ability to emotionally react to what is happening.’

The victim said the fallout of the case has felt like ‘everything was crumbling around me.’