The TV host was discussing grief during a viewer phone-in session with agony aunt Denise Robertson when he felt compelled to share his own story.
The caller was struggling with grief following the loss of her mother, who passed away during a 20-minute nap.
The 52-year-old comforted the caller, telling them: "I think that anyone who has ever lost somebody will always find something that will make them able to blame themselves, could I have done something differently? Could I have helped in anyway?"
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Things then took a more personal note for Phillip: "My dad died in 2008, he'd been poorly for a long time.
"We knew it was going to happen, but when it finally did happen we heard from the hospital, who said it's incredible how many people and it is this extraordinary physical thing that a person who is near the end of their life who without even knowing maybe, waits until family have left the room and then they go quietly on their own.
"And if I hadn't caught him, if I hadn't been there at the right time, he'd have gone without us."
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"And that's tough you know, that's tough, he tried to sneak away, but we caught him."
Phillip then told the bereaved viewer: "You can't blame yourself, you know it's funny I still, obviously, find it tough to talk after all these years.
The TV presenter, who was offered a hug from co-host Amanda Holden, started to recall fond memories of his father.
He said: "A friend of mine said something recently and I burst out laughing and said 'Oh God dad would have laughed at that', because he was very much the joker of the family."
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