Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: 35,000 sign petition to ‘axe’ This Morning hosts over queue row

A petition to get Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield axed from ITV’s This Morning has reached more than 35,000 signatures.

Last week, the This Morning presenters were spotted inside Westminster Hall on a visit to the Queen’s lying in state, before her funeral on Monday (19 September).

Having been given access to a separate line for media while thousands of mourners waited for hours, the pair were accused of “skipping the queue”.

ITV denied this allegation. “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,” producers said in a statement.

On Tuesday morning’s show (20 September), the pair addressed the issue live on the programme, with Willoughby telling audiences: “Please know that we would never jump a queue.

“We of course respected those rules, however we realise it may have looked like something else and therefore totally understand the reaction.”

At the time of writing, 35,156 people had signed a Change.org petition calling on ITV to “axe” Willoughby and Schofield for “pushing past those thousands [in the queue] and getting immediate access” to Westminster Hall.

The petition’s writer also accused This Morning of being “toxic” and Willoughby and Schofield of “being given privileges that deprive others”.

The Independent has contacted ITV for comment.

While some members of the media were given access to a special platform to see the coffin, many famous figures still queued to see the Queen lying in state.

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield (PA Archive)

Ahead of the funeral, BBC News presenter Huw Edwards subtly took aim at those who “jumped the queue” as he praised David Beckham for waiting in line for 12 hours after reportedly turned down the chance to use a special access queue.

“We did of course see a certain David Beckham there on Friday. He was widely praised for queueing for hours and hours, not jumping the queue because he’s a superstar VIP,” Edwards said.

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“No, he was in the queue for many hours and good for him.”

On Tuesday 20 September, Spice Girls star Mel B praised Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid for queueing for seven hours to see the Queen.

“I have so much respect for you… no queue-jumping for you,” she told Reid, appearing to refer to the ongoing row involving Reid’s fellow TV presenters.

However, Reid was quick to defend the presenters: “Some people had to work, but I was there with my mum,” she said.