Phillip Schofield participates in a survival adventure in Channel 5’s Cast Away. Which celebrity could join him next? (C: Channel 5)

Phillip Schofield is set to return to TV for the first time in 16 months with a brand new TV series. The former This Morning host hasn't been on our screens for more than a year after he quit the ITV brunchtime show in May 2023.

Schofield later quit ITV altogether, including his co-hosting role on Dancing on Ice, as he confessed to having an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a younger male This Morning colleague. But he is to make a spectacular comeback as early as Monday night on the new Channel 5 show Cast Away.

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In the new series, viewers will see Schofield stranded on a desert island off the coast of Madagascar for 10 days. He wrote on Instagram, "Now you know how I spent my summer! Alone for 10 days, no food, no water, no crew. My story of survival, both on a desert island and off it. Cast Away starts Monday on @channel5_tv & My5 at 9 p.m."

The three-part series will see Schofield tell his "own personal story" as he films himself on the island.

Schofield said in a statement, "This is most definitely a first for me and the only thing I felt compelled to do. It appealed to me on so many levels.

"I’ve recently had a lot of time to think about my life, what went right and what went wrong, but I’ve always had the safe arms of friends and family wrapped around me. This time it’s just me, no ‘phone, no comforts, no crew, and only lip balm as a luxury.

"I’m looking forward to exploring the island, trying to tie knots to secure my shelter and foraging and fending for myself in the wild...with no help. Maybe I’ll be Robinson Crusoe, or maybe I’ll just be Tom Hank’s Wilson and quietly drift off into the wild blue yonder!"

It won't be the first time a TV star has disappeared for a while only to return on a show, but they don't usually do so via a desert island. However, news of Schofield's new project has sparked speculation about who else could follow in his sandy footsteps.

Jenas To Be Cast Away?

Another star who hosted a similar show to Schofield is former The One Show presenter Jermaine Jenas. The ex-professional footballer was widely tipped as a potential successor to Gary Lineker on Match of the Day, but that appears to have gone up in smoke after he was recently axed from The One Show.

Following his sacking, the former footballer has admitted he sent "inappropriate messages" to two colleagues on The One Show and that he was "ashamed" of his behaviour, but he insisted to The Sun newspaper he had done "nothing illegal." To make matters worse, Jenas was also axed as a regular pundit on Match of the Day.

He is 4/7 to be the next star on Channel 5's Cast Away, should the channel recommission the show with another celebrity.

One star who has recently spoken about past controversies on a reality show is John Barrowman. He appeared on the latest Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins series, during which he addressed allegations that he had flashed on TV sets.

The Doctor Who star said on the show: "The press made the allegation that I was going around putting my d**k on everybody's shoulders.

"Having that happen to me ruined me, but this course is going to help me push through this and I want people to see the kind of person that I really am. On Doctor Who and Torchwood, I had to do a lot of nude scenes. If I were being stupid, I would do something stupid.

"The press made it out that I was a sexual deviant. We've all done stupid things and silly things, but what's been said about me will never go away now."

Sadly for Barrowman, he didn't have much time to show the real him on the programme, as he quit the series just 32 minutes after arriving at base. He is now 1/1 to take part in Cast Away next and has some experience of going without luxuries for a period of time after he took part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! in 2018, finishing third.

Hancock's Hat-Trick

During the coronavirus pandemic, one man who some would've liked to have seen cast away to a desert island was former Health Secretary Matt Hancock. Like Barrowman, Hancock has also participated in I'm A Celebrity, appearing in 2022's 22nd series and finishing third.

Could former Health Secretary make a reality TV return? (C: Alamy)

During his time on the ITV show, he was questioned by his fellow campmates about the COVID pandemic, and he expressed remorse about breaking his own social distancing guidelines, which occurred when he was caught kissing his former aide Gina Coladangelo. 

Hancock was interviewed further about his life when, like Barrowman, he also made a subsequent appearance on Celebrity SAS. Could he make it a TV hat-trick and star on Cast Away, too?

Hancock is 8/13 to do so, while another former I'm A Celebrity star and politician, Nigel Farage, is 2/1.

Like Hancock, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson (5/2) didn't exactly come out of the pandemic covered in glory, while it's 10/1 that fellow former PM Liz Truss, who holds the unwanted record of being the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain's history at just 49 days, appears on Cast Away.

Roxanne's Return?

Celebrity Big Brother returned on ITV this year after six years away, with the previous series airing in 2018 on Channel 5. That year was shrouded in controversy after former Emmerdale actress Roxanne Pallett falsely accused fellow housemate Ryan Thomas of punching her.

Roxanne Pallett could seek redemption with a TV comeback on Cast Away after her survival experience on Celebrity Island. (C: PA Images / Alamy)

Pallett quit the show early and in a subsequent interview with host Emma Willis, she admitted to making a "horrible mistake." Ofcom received more than 25,000 complaints about the incident. Pallett returned to TV in 2019 on Celebrity Coach Trip, but she's largely been off air on these shores since.

The actress is 6/4 to make a British TV return in Cast Away, and she could be the perfect candidate for the series due to her past experience. She participated in Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls in 2018, but she did walk before the end.

What's more, two stars who have both battled demons in the past are singer Kerry Katona (4/1) and former EastEnders actress Danniella Westbrook (5/1).

The pair, who have both appeared on I'm A Celebrity and Celebrity Big Brother in the past - are now over their former cocaine addictions, but it would be interesting to see either of them open up about their lives on Cast Away.