In an exclusive interview with HELLO! Magazine, Phillip Schofield has reflected on his time working with the Duke of Edinburgh.
The This Morning presenter followed the Duke on official engagements this year for a new ITV documentary, When Phillip Met Prince Philip: 60 Years of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Prince Philip turned 95 this year
And, he told HELLO!, he was very impressed with the 95-year-old's stamina. "There were days when I was shadowing him and talking to people he had spoken to and by the end of it, my feet were bloody killing me," he said.
"I've got an achy back and he's shaken 5,000 hands and walks out of the ground at the end and walks across to me.
"Yes, there's royal duty, but nevertheless, he's blessed with some extraordinary James Bond-esque type genes. He's sharp as a tack, his memory is fearsome, his humour is razor sharp and he was extraordinary in the amount of time he would spend with people." And he also paid tribute to his sense of fun. "He was absolutely lovely. He's got a great sense of humour. At 95 he's still very funny. He was joking 'Oh bloody hell, not you again,' he was very friendly."
The programme looks back at how the Duke launched the scheme to provide life-changing opportunities for young people when he was 35. "When you look at him as a younger man, he was a stunning-looking guy and a (naval) Commander. He's actually bloody James Bond.
"He looked incredible, was very much the action man figure and so what better way to encourage people to do it than lead by example."
And as for what he thinks Prince Philip's secret is, Phillip tells HELLO!: "You have to be blessed with a body that will see you through that so I think he's probably a very lucky man that genetically, he's robust. And propping all of that up is this dedication to duty. Real, old-fashioned, 'well that's it, crack on'."
Read the full article in HELLO! out now
