It’s A Sin viewers were shocked over a very cheeky reference to Phillip Schofield‘s sexuality, because filming wrapped before he came out in February last year.
The show, set in the 80s, shows Ritchie (Olly Alexander) and his lover Donald (Nathaniel Hall) speculating about which celebrities are homosexual.
Donald said in episode three of the drama: ‘I’ll tell you who else: Phillip Schofield.’
‘Ritchie replied: ‘If only.’
‘It’s a coincidence’: It’s A Sin viewers were shocked over the show’s cheeky reference to Phillip Schofield’s sexuality because filming wrapped BEFORE he came out
Donald told Ritchie (pictured) in the show: ‘I had a friend who worked in The Broom Cupboard, said he’s at it like Billy-o’ when talking about Schofield in the 80s
Donald added: ‘I had a friend who worked in The Broom Cupboard, said he’s at it like Billy-o.’
In fact, writer Russell T. Davies, 57, confirmed that the reference was a complete coincidence and said lawyers allowed the line because the star is married to a woman.
He told The Times: ‘Gay men always say that a handsome man on television is gay. So in the 1980s we always used to say Phillip Schofield was gay.
‘The lawyer said, “No, you don’t need to clear this with Schofield, because he’s straight. He’s married with children, we don’t need to check that.”
Brave: Phillip, who has been married to wife Stephanie for over 27 years revealed he is gay during an appearance on This Morning last February
Candid: Phillip, who shares daughters Molly, 28, and Ruby, 25, with his wife, spoke about his battles with keeping his secret and the relief of coming out
‘Only now he’s come out! Isn’t that weird?’
He also told Pink News: ‘See, I never thought that Phillip Schofield was gay. I was like a right chump… He’s always been very nice to me – I look a little bit like I’m taking potshots at him now.
‘Whereas actually, when that was written and filmed we’d all presumed he was so straight that that line was no offence, because I was attacking gay men who always presume that the handsome man on television is gay.’
‘i feel like a chump’: Writer Russell T Davies revealed lawyers said he did not need to check the line with Schofield because he was married to a woman and said he was not taking potshots at the star because he didn’t know he was actually gay
Viewers wrote on Twitter: ‘I watched #ItsASin and had to check filming dates due to the Phillip Schofield mention.
‘Filming wrapped 7 days before he came out (officially). Must just be a coincidence?’
‘Loved the @schofe reference #itsasin.’
‘Laughed my a** off at the reference to Phillip Schofield.’
‘Already on ep 3 of #ItsASin where there’s a sneaky reference to Philip Schofield being gay. Filming for this finished in January 2020. Schofield came out in February 2020….’
MailOnline has contacted a spokesperson for Phillip Schofield, 58, for comment.
It’s A Sin tells the story of five friends who live in a flat together in London in 1981, but their lives are turned upside down by the AIDS crisis.
Last time: Phillip and supportive Steph were last seen in public together at the National Television Awards a month before he went public with his sexuality)
Back in February, Phillip bravely revealed he was gay in an emotional discussion with Holly WIlloughby, 39, on This Morning.
After 27 years of marriage to his wife Stephanie, he admitted that he has suffered ‘inner conflict’ and is now ready to ‘celebrate and be proud’ of his sexuality, yet insisted he is not thinking about a new relationship.
Phillip, who shares daughters Molly, 28, and Ruby, 25, with his wife, spoke about his battles with keeping his secret and the relief of coming out.
Phil met Stephanie when she was a BBC production Assistant and he was working for the BBC Children’s television.
You what? The reference didn’t go unnoticed with viewers who took to Twitter afterwards – It’s A Sin tells the story of five friends who live in a flat together in London in 1981, but their lives are turned upside down by the AIDS crisis
He said: ‘Every person I tell it gets a little lighter and a little lighter, at the same time I have made this decision which is essential for me and essential for my head and that is principally the reason I have done this. They have been supporting while we get to this moment because we all know it was coming…
‘We’ve never had any secrets. It is tough but it’s not something that has happened quickly, I have had to deal with this in my head for quite some time, we’ve gone through this together, we have been honest and have been open and Stephanie as I said, you know’.
Quick to lavish praise on his wife, he said: ‘She’s amazing, she’s incredible, there’s no one in my life who would have supported me. As a wife the way she’s supported me, she’s astonishing, literally astonishing, it’s a good questions, you know this has been bothered me for a very long time.’