Aimee Walker
The creator of a petition accusing This Morning’s Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield of ‘jumping the queue’ to see Queen Elizabeth lying in state has said it’s ‘destroying’ her.
The woman behind the Change.org appeal, titled ‘Axe Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby from TV’, shared an update on the petition on Sunday.
It reads: “I’ve asked ITV to deliver any responses relating to this to the public and not to me, as I won’t be following the news, or watching the programme, or sharing anything online, or through social media.
Watch Holly Willoughby become emotional on This Morning in the clip below…
“I want nothing more than for this topic to end.
“I want positivity, not hostility and negativity. The concerns raised by this have been shared with Ofcom and ITV, and that’s all I can do.”
It added: “I want to begin the week on a more positive note, and I don’t want to think about the programme anymore.
“It’s kind of destroying me. Words will be twisted, but the intent was always to prevent people from being hurt time and time again by these TV shows.”
Related Article: Piers Morgan Defends ‘Distraught’ Holly Willoughby And Phillip Schofield From ‘Queue Jumping’ Backlash
At the time of writing, the appeal has amassed more than 75,000 signatures.
The petition was launched when the This Morning presenters went to see the Queen lying in state, as people wrongly believed they had ‘queue jumped’.
Following the allegations, Willoughby appeared on the daytime programme and denied the claims.
Willoughby said: “Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists, we were given official permission to access the hall.
“It was strictly for the purpose of reporting on the event for millions of people in the UK who haven’t been able to visit Westminster in person.
“The rules were that we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back. In contrast, those paying respects walked along a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause.
“None of the broadcasters and journalists took anyone’s places in the queue and no one filed past the Queen.
Related Article: Holly Willoughby And Phillip Schofield’s Wellbeing Sparks ‘Serious Concerns’ Amid Queue Backlash
“We, of course, respected those rules, however, we realised that it may have looked like something else and therefore we totally understand the reaction.
“Please know that we would never jump a queue.”
ITV has also addressed the backlash and in a statement, the broadcaster said: “Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something. We asked Phillip and Holly to be part of a film for Tuesday’s programme.
“They did not jump the queue, have VIP access or file past the Queen lying in state – but instead were there in a professional capacity as part of the world’s media to report on the event.”
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