Vanessa Feltz hurriedly shook off questions about her friendship with disgraced TV presenter Phillip Schofield when she took to the red carpet at the National Television Awards on Tuesday night.
The 61-year-old broadcasting legend was among guests attending the glitzy awards ceremony at London’s O2 arena where the best and brightest of the small screen gathered to be celebrated for their work. But the red carpet ahead of the awards became something of a gauntlet for the Celebs Go Dating star as many wanted to hear about her friendship with 61-year-old Phil.
Last month, Vanessa and Phil were spotted out dining together at a West London restaurant - sparking surprise for many fans. But those wondering if Vanessa would give any insights into what she talked to Phil about were left disappointed when she awkwardly avoided questions.
Quizzed by the Daily Star on the red carpet how Phil is doing, she quipped: "You will have to ask him” and declined to comment further. It has been almost four months since Phil’s career imploded as he admitted he had lied about having an ‘unwise but not illegal’ affair with a much younger male colleague behind the scenes of This Morning.
Vanessa Feltz shot down questions about her friendship with Phillip Schofield (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock for NTA)
Vanessa was spotted out for dinner with Phil last month (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)He was sensationally forced to cut all ties with ITV and was dumped by his management amid the fallout of the scandal. Just over two months later, Vanessa was spied at West London restaurant Little Bird with Phil.
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The duo looked in high spirits as they chatted and smiled together - with Vanessa warmly hugging her friend before she disappeared into the night in a waiting car. More recently, however, reports have emerged to suggest that Phil is planning to make a career comeback despite the scandal.
Speaking to the Mirror on Tuesday, Edward Coram-James, crisis communications and PR expert at Go Up, claims Phil has a three-step plan for reputational recovery, with his first move being his "very well executed" tell-all BBC interview on June 2. Ed said: "This kind of interview is always a risk, as it can go one of two ways, you need to look no further than the fallout from Prince Andrew's interview.
“Schofield is a presenting veteran and was always going to fare better in such circumstances than the likes of the Duke of York. He is used to being in front of the camera, being personable, amendable and human, and saying what he has to say.
"Over many weeks' worth of relentless barrages, Schofield was ridiculed, demonised and dehumanised, to the point where he became nothing more than a fair game punching bag. In the interview, we were reminded that he was a person. And a person that, actually, we all quite like. And that, as wrong as it is, people have affairs. He was apologetic and took full responsibility.
"And the public likes to see people take accountability when they make mistakes. More importantly, he looked like a truly broken man. The effects of what we as the public had done to him were so in-your-face that people could not help but notice and reflect on whether the punishment fit the crime. Whether it was time to put the claws away. The interview stopped the story from escalating further."
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