Eamonn Holmes attacks ‘arrogant’ Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield over queue-gate: ‘Why not just tell the truth?’

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Eamonn Holmes has accused This Morning’s Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield of lying about not skipping the queue to see the Queen lying in state.

Willoughby and Schofield denied jumping ahead in a statement on Wednesday’s show, insisting that they had ‘respected’ the rules set for the media.

Their address comes following a barrage of uproar on social media after they appeared inside Westminster Hall last week without taking part in the public line.

Since pictures emerged, a petition calling for Willoughby and Schofield to be axed from television has surpassed 35,000 signatures.

Former This Morning presenter Holmes, who already made a dig at the pair, once again took a swipe at them on GB News, this time, however, calling them both ‘arrogant’.

His comments came as he and co-presenter Isobel Webster flicked through today’s front pages and came across reports Willoughby could quit the ITV programme, which has since been quashed.

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield denied jumping the queue to see the Queen lying in state (Picture: Rex)

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Eamonn Holmes didn’t hold back as he spoke out against his former This Morning colleagues (Picture: GB News)

Holmes began: ‘I’ll tell you what’s strategic. Why is Holly fighting to keep her job, according to The Sun, but Mr Phillip isn’t?’

Presenter Clare Muldoon replied: ‘Who knows? Twitter, last night, was saying she didn’t want to vacate her job at This Morning.

‘Who wouldn’t want to give up £600,000 a year and everything else that comes with it? I think the brand is very damaged. There has to be a change from the top down to the bottom on This Morning.’

The conversation continued, with Holmes reading out Willoughby and Schofield’s statement stressing they didn’t break the rules, and it’s understood they rebut the accusation that they lied. 

The presenters appeared inside Westminster Hall last week (Picture: ITV)

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Reading their quotes, he said: ‘”We didn’t jump the queue, we were working”. Why was your boss there working with you?’

‘Why was she wearing a mask? Is she allergic to the public?’ Clare asked.

Holmes answered: ‘No, she does that. ‘”Holly’s in tears”, but Holly’s always in tears. But wearing a mask – I think she’s quite fearful, germophobic.’

Webster stepped in to point out that Willoughby and Schofield followed many other broadcasters in ‘fast-tracking’ through the Queen lying in state.

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However, Holmes interrupted: ‘They didn’t get a fast-track, they say. Lie. They say they didn’t pay their respects to the body. Lie.

‘What else were they there for? Let’s just tell the truth about the whole thing.

‘They messed up, and instead of being arrogant and saying, “We were there working as journalists”, why don’t they just say, “Yeah, we thought it would be a good idea”.’

Holmes has made no secret of his ongoing feud with Schofield after he and his wife Ruth Langsford were dumped from presenting This Morning on Fridays in 2020.

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In an interview with the Daily Mail’s Weekend magazine in February, Holmes branded Schofield ‘passive aggressive’ for cutting his wife off in the middle of a trailer for Loose Women on This Morning in 2019.

He told the publication: ‘Phillip is renowned for snubbing people. He’s very passive-aggressive.

‘It’s up to Ruth to say how she felt, but I was feeling hurt for her. No one would have snubbed me like that.’

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