In the latest Phillip Schofield news, the 61-year-old was spotted for the first time since Holly Willoughby’s return to Dancing On Ice on Thursday, January 25. Contrary to reports suggesting he was “bruised” by his ex-pal’s triumphant comeback to television, Schofield appeared anything but that during his recent outing.

Reports earlier this month indicated that Holly made her return to TV after a three-month hiatus, co-hosting Dancing On Ice with Stephen Mulhern. A source claimed to The Sun that Schofield was still “bruised” from his public falling out with Holly and his exit from This Morning, making it unlikely for him to watch either show.

The source stated, “Phil is still bruised by the whole Holly falling-out and the way it was played out publicly. He still can’t bring himself to watch This Morning, and even listening to the theme tune is deeply triggering. It would seem unlikely he is avidly tuning in to watch Holly’s return to TV. Phil just wants to move on and live a quiet life away from the spotlight whilst he tries to rebuild.”

However, recent pictures obtained by the MailOnline paint a different picture. In these images, Phillip Schofield looks far from “bruised.” The former This Morning host was photographed entering a local shop and emerged in high spirits, seen laughing and grinning as he left the store.

Schofield has been off screens since his affair scandal broke, with his last TV appearance during a BBC interview in June where he discussed his ITV exit and affair.

Despite the change in hosts for Dancing On Ice, some viewers have not warmed up to Stephen Mulhern and have taken to Twitter to express their desire for Phillip to make a return. Viewers are pleading for Schofield’s comeback, with one stating, “Controversial opinion but bring back Phillip Schofield, sorry Stephen,” and another saying, “Phillip all is forgiven, please come back. I can’t cope with Mulhern on every single programme ITV does.” A third viewer wrote, “I bet either DOI gets rested for the foreseeable, or Holly will leave. It’s just not got the same feel to it when Phil was on it.”