Aimee Walker
A petition to axe This Morning’s Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield for allegedly ‘queue jumping’ to see the Queen lying in state has surpassed 38,000 signatures.
The appeal, launched on Change.org, is titled ‘Axe Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby from TV’ and aims for 50,000 people to sign it, despite the presenters having denied the allegations.
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Its description reads: “Thousands of people are lining up overnight to pay respects to the Queen, where they will likely wait up to 24 hours.
“Yet Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield… were able to push past those thousands and get immediate access.
“ITV should be ashamed. I’d like to see This Morning axed for good.”
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The backlash against Willoughby and Schofield began when the award-winning presenters used media passes to enter Westminister Hall, while many other famous faces joined the queue – which lasted as long as 14 hours – with members of the public.
Addressing the criticism, the pair appeared on This Morning yesterday and responded to the accusations.
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.
“We, of course, respected those rules, however, we realised that it may have looked like something else and therefore we totally understand the reaction.
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“Please know that we would never jump a queue.”
ITV has also addressed the uproar and insisted that Willoughby and Schofield ‘did not file past the Queen’s coffin’ and that they were carrying out work duties.
The broadcaster said in a statement: “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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