Phillip Schofield spotted visiting Ludlow

Phillip Schofield was spotted out and about in the centre of Ludlow and stopped to chat and take selfies, with fans.

The Bufton family were among those who ran into the This Morning presenter, who stopped in Shropshire on his way to Yorkshire for the weekend.

Michelle Bufton, 50, who lives in the town, said: "My son Joel got a Snapchat message on Friday night from one of his friends saying they had just seen Philip Schofield.

"We were in town already so we went to see if we could find him."

She, husband Richard, 46, and 18-year-old Joel quickly spotted him in Market Square.

"I asked him what he was doing in Ludlow and he said he was just there for a day out.

"He was with his wife (Stephanie Lowe) and she did the photo for us. A few people came about then and got pictures with him. He was really nice."

The news spread across social media both on the day and over the weekend, with many fans expressing how upset they were that they missed his fleeting stop in south Shropshire.

@estherpastaa tweeted: "My mate just posted a pic of her with Phillip Schofield, haha what's he doing in Ludlow."

@xlucymooreX said: "I was in Ludlow three days ago and Phillip Schofield is there today. If that's not bad karma I don't know what is."

@ThisIsSophieB added: "Ahaha, literally everyone south of Craven Arms has tweeted about Phillip Schofield being in Ludlow."

And @rebeccaa_huges said: "No way did I miss out on meeting Philip Schofield in Ludlow yesterday."

Schofield later tweeted about visiting Yorkshire on Saturday and Sunday.

The TV personality is probably best known for presenting ITV's This Morning, which he has done since 2002, though he has presented a wide range of shows on both BBC and ITV over the years.

For a generation he is also known as the face of BBC children's TV in the 1980s, having been CBBC's first on-screen continuity announcer in his "broom cupboard" with puppet Gordon the Gopher.