Noel: Schofield cancer interview was stitch-up Edmonds slams ITV host for ‘being callous and doing a Paxman’
insider said: “No one would dream of being disrespectful to cancer sufferers. It’s still very raw.” Friends fear the row might put TV chiefs off hiring Noel. He had been lined up for a “huge” show but pals fear that might be axed over perceptions he keeps pressing a “self-destruct button”.
Noel issued his broadside to Schofield in a statement on his website.
He claimed the ITV hosts were “hell bent on pursuing an agenda” after he agreed to talk about benefits he experienced from electronic pulse treatment.
Noel explained: “The style of questioning was aggressive and disrespectful to the viewer. I am always prepared to give straight answers to straight questions but I wasn’t given time to respond. Phil – trying to be Jeremy Paxman doesn’t suit you and at least JP gives his guest the chance to answer.”
Noel appeared on TV after a row over a tweet in which he asked a cancer suffer whether his “negative attitude” might have contributed to the disease.
Noel also claimed a £2,300 electronic pulse machine could help fight the illness. But he looked visibly shaken as he faced a tough grilling.
A spokesman for Noel yesterday said he would not be commenting further.
But an ITV spokesman for Phil insisted: “It’s essential to ask challenging questions on behalf of our viewers.
“That might occasionally mean a clash of views but we would never be deliberately rude or disrespectful.”