Michelle Visage was secret rock for Phillip Schofield after coming out as gay

Phillip Schofield

Michelle Visage has opened up on how she reached out to Phillip Schofield when he publicly came out as gay on This Morning earlier this year.

The RuPaul's Drag Race star has explained how she got in touch with her "brave" friend after he came out, as she "didn't want him to feel ostracised or outcast".

She told the Daily Star, "I felt this air of everybody attacking rather than celebrating.

Michelle Visage Phillip Schofield

Credit: Getty

"I know it's not an easy thing to do in your older years rather than being a teenager, and it's not easy then either.

"It's never easy, but being in the public eye amplified it 10 times."

Phillip - who has admitted he turned to medication following his coming out - recently spoke about one of his and Michelle's meetings, confessing she was a rock for him during his time of need.

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On Fearne Cotton's Happy Place podcast, he said, "Before we all got locked down, I had lunch with Michelle Visage.

"She's one of those really kind, compassionate people and I've known her on and off the telly, and she was one of those people that messaged me."

Phillip came out in February of this year, writing a lengthy statement on Instagram, in which he asked for kindness and privacy towards his family, insisting they backed him fully, before sitting down with his close pal and co-host Holly Willougby live on This Morning.

He wrote in his initial statement on Instagram, "Every day on This Morning I sit in awe of those we meet who have been brave and open in confronting their truth - so now it's my turn to share mine.

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"This will probably all come as something of a surprise and I understand, but only by facing this, by being honest, can I hope to find peace in my mind and a way forward.

"Please be kind, especially to my family. Phillip."

Hayley is a Celebrity Features Editor with more than five years' experience in online and magazines. She currently looks after all things celebrity for Woman, Woman’s Own, Woman’s Weekly, Woman & Home, and Goodto.com. Before joining Future, Hayley spent a year as a TV reporter for Mirror Online and a year and a half as a showbiz and TV reporter for OK! Online - but was forced to write about tech and cars for a year before that, despite knowing nothing about either!.