Phillip Schofield reaches out to Jeremy Clarkson amid 'TV return' a year on from ITV saga

Phillip Schofield has reached out to Jeremy Clarkson amid reports he is set for a television comeback. The 62-year-old presenter broke his Instagram silence earlier this month after a year-long hiatus following his departure from This Morning after more than 20 years.

At the time, Phillip shared a picture of his dog Alfie watching Formula One alongside him in bed, captioning the snap: "Thankfully, Alfie is a big @f1 fan." In a new update, the former Dancing on Ice presenter shared a video of his beloved pooch watching Jeremy Clarkson's popular series Clarkson's Farm.

Reaching out to the presenter turned farmer via the clip, the presenter tagged Jeremy in the video and wrote: "Thank goodness we love watching the same shows... he’s obsessed with Clarkson’s farm!"

Within the three slides of clips shared on his Story, Alfie can be seen looking intrigued about Jeremy sourcing honey from his bees and was later seen barking at his pigs as they ran around a paddock.

The Clarkson's Farm star is yet to react to Phillip's Story, but has previously responded to the controversy surrounding the presenter's career downturn last year. The host left This Morning after coming clean about an "unwise but not illegal" affair with a young runner on the show.

At the time, Jeremy likened the uproar on social media to a "witch-hunt" when sharing his views on the topic in his column.

The presenter wrote in his Sunday Times column: "I’ve never seen a witch-hunt like it, and what baffles me most of all is that, as things stand, no crime has been committed.

"I don’t know him at all well and have no skin in the game, but it seems to me he is only guilty of being what he said he was: gay."

Jeremy went on to say that he thinks the reaction to Phillip having an affair with a man decades his junior is hypocritical as he pointed out that octogenarian actors such as Al Pacino, 83, and Robert DeNiro, 80, had become dads again with their much younger partners.

Meanwhile, Phillip's Instagram return comes amid reports he is in talks for a television comeback.

After being pictured with Declan Donnelly earlier last month, fans began to speculate that he could be in talks to sign up to I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!.

A source told OK! Magazine: "Phillip is not the same since being away from TV, it's what he's done all his life and all he's ever wanted to do.

"There is talk that Ant and Dec are keen to get him on I'm A Celeb."

Another source told The Sun: "Some TV executives have been in touch with Phil about a possible return and his friends have told him he should consider it.

"Whether he will make a comeback — whether it’s on TV or radio — is still undecided but the offers are there if he wants to pursue them. His friends have told him they will support him all the way."

Phillip had been a main presenter on This Morning for 21 years before his departure.

He fronted the first seven years with his former co-star Fern Britton, followed by Holly Willoughby, who also quit the show last October.

The duo have since been replaced by Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.