This Morning’s Philip Scofield has reportedly been replaced in webuyanycar.com ads by a viral TikTok star.
The news comes after his multi-million pound advertising deal ended after five years, with fans noticing he was no longer part of the brand after being removed from social media posts.
His five-year contract came to an end as he and co-host Holly Willoughby faced intense backlash after appearing to skip the queue to see the Queen’s coffin laid in state at Westminster Hall, although ITV strongly denied that Holly and Phil they did something wrong.
TikTok star Mufasa, real name Jeff Obeng, is now said to have taken Phil’s We Buy Any Car spot.
A source revealed: “Mufasa is just what the brand needed to inject some energy into the ads following the queue-gate backlash.”
The insider continued to The Sun: “The hope is that a TikTok star will also appeal to a younger audience.”
A spokesperson for We Buy Any Car previously said of the change in posters on social media: “We Buy Any Car and Phillip Schofield agreed earlier this year that the webuyanycar/Phillip Schofield campaign would end in 2022, having worked together for more than five years.
“The decision was made before any recent stories about Philip.”
Mufasa has an impressive TikTok following of 892,600 after entertaining viewers with wild dance routines from the passenger seat of a car.
Mufasa rose to fame with fellow TikTok star Hypeman after they released a video in October 2019 of Mufasa dancing next to a moving car to a remix of the Nightcrawlers’ 1992 hit Push The Feeling On.
The routine was later copied by celebrities including Kanye West and even Gordon Ramsay.
Mufasa exclusively told Metro.co.uk last year that he was most surprised that Kanye was participating in the trend.
“One of the most surprising ones for me was Kanye West,” he told us. “I’ve seen him dance before, but not next to a vehicle.”
Speaking about the success of the video and how it came about, Mufasa added: “It happened in 2019 and we were making videos just like that.
“So one day I decided to change it and because I like all kinds of music, I wanted to do one of my favorite tracks, which was Push The Feeling On, so I spoke to Hypeman and he said ‘Let’s do it.’
“When we got to the place, we didn’t have anything planned. I didn’t have any dances planned and he didn’t have a catchphrase planned.
“We only did two or three takes and then we would just pick the best one. We just thought it would be a video we made, a few laughs, but the reaction we got has been mind blowing.
Mufasa, who is originally from Ghana but lives in Virginia, US, has been posting videos since 2018, but his popularity exploded during the lockdown thanks to his upbeat, joyful videos.
The end of Phil’s We Buy Any Car deal came as the TV duo faced an intense backlash for appearing to jump the queue as thousands waited for hours, including Susanna Reid and David Beckham, as the line stretched up to five miles in one moment.
Although the pair apologized on air for the controversial segment and there are hardly any complaints filed with Ofcom about the queue skip, a petition calling for Holly and Phil to be sacked has attracted more than 72,000 signatures.
Last month, during the special episode covering the days after the Queen’s death, Holly and Phil addressed their controversial visit, with Holly saying: ‘Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists, we have been given official permission to enter the hall.
“This was strictly to report the event to the millions of people in the UK who were unable to visit Westminster in person.
“The rules were that we would quickly be escorted around the edges to a platform in the back.
“In contrast, those paying their respects walked the carpeted area next to the casket and were given time to stop.
“None of the cameramen and journalists there took anyone’s place in the queue and no one walked past the Queen. We, of course, followed these rules.
She added: “However, we recognize that it may have looked like something else and therefore fully understand the reaction. Please know that we would never skip the line.
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