What Phillip Schofield teaches us about public morality

On one level it’s all fluff and gossip, but the Phillip Schofield story actually raises some interesting questions about what remains of our idea of public morality.

Let’s start from the beginning. In early 2020, Schofield very publicly came out as gay. He posted a statement on social media that emphasised his gratitude for the loving support of his wife of 27 years and his two daughters. The strong implication was that he had not acted on his homosexual inclinations, that he was the utterly devoted family man, plunged into an impossible situation. ‘With the strength and support of my wife and daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.’ It has been difficult to face up to this, he explained, but he took heart from the change in public attitudes: ‘My inner conflict contrasts with an outside world that has changed so very much for the better.