Petition to axe This Morning’s Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield reaches over 14k signatures

Albertina Lloyd

·Contributor

Tue, 20 September 2022 at 9:51 am

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield are the target of a petition to have them axed from TV following their appearance at Queen Elizabeth II‘s lying in state.

The This Morning stars have been accused of ‘jumping-the-queue’ after they were spotted dressed in black and wearing official lanyards as they were ushered through Westminster Hall – where ther late Queen’s coffin lay ahead of her funeral – while others queues for hours in the cold to pay their respects.

A petition calling for Willoughby and Schofield to be axed from television has now garnered over 14,000 signatures.

ITV has said in a statement on social media: “Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something. We asked Phillip and Holly to be part of a film for this 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.”

Footage of Willoughby, 41, and Schofield, 60, at Westminster Hall came as other celebrities queued patiently like the rest of the public.

Former England captain David Beckham and Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid were among the famous faces who waited several hours to see the Queen lying in state.

Reid queued for over seven hours and said it was “worth every minute”.

Beckham said he felt compelled to queue for 12 hours – saying if his grandparents had been alive, they would have been there with him.

Award-winning actor Tilda Swinton was also spotted paying tribute to the Queen. The Marvel star was seen filing past the coffin on Saturday, having queued with other mourners to visit the lying in state.

Reality star Sharon Osbourne made a pilgrimage to pay tribute to the late monarch, joining the queue and happily posing for photos with fans.

Pop star James Blunt – who attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – was also sighted in the queue, as was Line of Duty actor Daniel Mays and Strictly Come Dancing professional Neil Jones who queued with his partner, Love Island star Chyna Mills for 10 hours.