Phillip Schofield’s momentous coming out given a satirical spin by Charlie Brooker
Charlie Brooker looked back to February 7, when This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield came out as gay. (Getty and ITV)
Charlie Brooker gave Phillip Schofield’s coming out moment was given a satirical spin in the one-off comedy special Antiviral Wipe on Thursday night, May 14.
The special saw the Black Mirror creator looking at life under lockdown and reflecting on the ridiculousness of the last few months.
Brooker looked back to February 7, when the This Morning presenter announced on Instagram that he had struggled with his sexuality throughout his 27-year marriage to his wife, Stephanie Lowe.
On the same day he appeared on This Morning with co-host Holly Willoughby, and during the show Willoughby read out Schofield’s emotional Instagram post.
Charlie Brooker jokes about Phil and Holly’s ‘ventriloquist act’ in Antiviral Wipe.
In Antiviral Wipe, however, Charlie Brooker made the clip look a little different. Narrating the Willoughby’s reading of the Instagram post, Brooker said: “In a bizarre ventriloquist act Holly Willoughby temporarily identified as Phillip Schofield to announce that they were now identifying as a gay man, which is as 2020 as it gets.”
"Ventriloquist act" Phillip and Holly
He actually went there!
? #CharlieBrooker #AntiviralWipe #ScreenWipe
— Tony Bianchi (@Voltamax2030) May 14, 2020
He then added reverb to make the Willoughby’s voice sound like Schofield’s thoughts.
Brooker continued: “Hang on, this is weird actually, because when she speaks and it cuts to him, it feels like you’re hearing his internal monologue, especially if you put some reverb over the top.
“Anyway with that, after 58 years the beloved silver-haired This Morning wingman had come out.
“Just in time for the government to tell him and the rest of us to go back in.”
? That Holly and Phil bit was SO GOOD. Good to have you back @charltonbrooker! #AntiviralWipe— Elliot Gonzalez (@elliot_gonzalez) May 14, 2020
Fans found the satire hilarious, with one tweeting: “That Holly and Phil bit was SO GOOD. Good to have you back Charlie Brooker.”
During the comedy special, Brooker also took aim at the government’s attempts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, 5G conspiracy theorists and celebrity hand-washing videos.
Critic Adam White wrote for The Independent: “Brooker seamlessly weaves our current woes with the corruptions and exceptionalist nonsense of the Brexit campaign, balancing poo jokes with a simmering and necessary rage.”
