Phillip Schofield ‘struggling to sleep’ after watching Ukrainian news reports ‘on loop 10 times’

Phillip Schofield told fans he and the This Morning crew were finding the news difficult to switch-off from, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. 

During the show’s Dear Deirdre segment on Thursday, a caller got in touch to say her husband was feeling incredibly anxious about the conflict in Ukraine.

But chatting alongside Holly Willoughby and segment host Deirdre Sanders, Phil showed empathy towards the caller and explained his colleagues were also struggling with the constant cycle of upsetting news.

Turning to Holly, Phil said: ‘We were talking earlier on, and saying firstly, a load of people within our extended team said, “I didn’t sleep very well last night,” because it is going through everybody’s head. 

For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live

Going on to talk about Putin, he said: ‘We’re looking at a guy who’s gone full on Dr Strangelove.

‘You’ve got to hope the people around him will, at some stage, pull this into some sort of control.’

Phil admitted his own worries over the upsetting news cycle (Picture: ITV)

He continued: ‘But, what I did yesterday was watched the news on a loop

I’ve watched the same reports 10 times.’

Phil and Holly have been open about the show’s support of Ukraine in recent days, as it remains top of the agenda of talking points.

Earlier this week, the pair pointed out the nation’s flags which had been put up in the the studio in a powerful show of ‘solidarity.’

Sitting alongside co-host Holly, he said: ‘You might have noticed that we’ve added some Ukrainian flags to our river view this morning to show our solidarity with the people of Ukraine. 

‘If you are watching, you have friends or family there at the moment, we’re just sending lots of love and our support.’

Elsewhere, Phil has also been open about wanting Home Secretary Priti Patel to make the policy more lenient for Ukrainian nationals trying to flee the country.

Chatting on Wednesday’s show, he said the UK should be ‘flinging our doors open’ to let in refugees from the country.

More: ITV

Shortly after the discussion on This Morning, No 10 confirmed that the Ukrainian refugee visa scheme had been extended, to include more than just ‘immediate family.’

As of yesterday, adult parents, grandparents, children over 18 and siblings of those settled in the UK will also be permitted entry.

This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.

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