Craig Doyle’s eerie prediction on how he’d land This Morning gig just weeks before Phillip Schofield was axed

THIS Morning star Craig Doyle previously said it would take ‘a couple of freak accidents’ for him to get Philip Schofield’s job, just weeks before it happened.

The Irish telly star has been a hit stepping in this week to present with Holly Willoughby since Schofield left the show. 

And it seems that the 52-year-old had no idea what was on the horizon when he was on the Big Jim Podcast in April. 

Speaking then, he said: “You’ve got This Morning with Holly, lovely Holly, and lovely Phil. So when they go away, Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond take over and when they go away, I’m in there. I need a couple of freak accidents to happen to make that gig happen.”

But he said he loved being on the show and added: “I would say in a live TV studio is where I’m at my calmest and in my most peaceful state. It’s really weird.”

That was not always the case as Craig recalled breaking down crying when he was given his dream job- presenting BBC Grandstand. 

“It gets better, I was a Man Utd fan all my life and Bryan Robson was on. I had posters of him and my first guest on Grandstand- Bryan Robson. 

So I’m sitting there going, I’m about to present Grandstand, f### you every single person who said I’d never do this. F### you, I’m doing it… And I’m looking at Bryan Robson and guess what happens? Tears start, I’m starting to cry because I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

And it got worse then he was sent to cover the Olympics in Athens for the BBC.

Craig said he was “overwhelmed” by the magnitude of what he had to do and was in “an absolute crisis.”

He was hitting headlines, with one saying he was ‘hated in Britain’ and said: “It was so bad a Labour politician tabled a question in the Parliament sign is Craig Doyle suitable to be on the national broadcaster during such an important event.”

Doyle said he was “mortified” but he knew it “was too big for me, I wasn’t ready.”

Back in Ireland, he was given the chance to host his own show, but that didn’t work either and he said it was only when he moved into rugby coverage and sports he knew that he found his own. 

“I ended up doing some chat shows in Ireland that were a complete disaster and I remember having to go and do a press day after one of them. It was really bad, the show, and we pulled it after five episodes and we decided to rework it and go again a month later.

“There were all these journos there and I went ‘hi all, the show’s sh##, any questions?’

“I got into terrible trouble for that but I just thought I’m going to face things up from now on. That was the biggest learning curve I ever had. I thought I was the greatest guy in the world, I’m living the dream, presenting this show and then being taken away from you.”