This Morning: Holly Willoughby addresses queue jumping claims
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Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield may leave their roles on This Morning following the backlash they received last month when visiting Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall. The ITV hosts, who were there to film a segment for This Morning, were accused by viewers who believed they had “jumped” the queue to pay their respects.
Holly and Phillip have always denied this, stating they would never dream of jumping any queues.
The duo haven’t confirmed any plans to leave their roles on This Morning, however, Ladbrokes latest odds of 6/4 suggest the pair won’t be presenting the show by 2023.
“Perhaps it’s time for a change on the This Morning sofas,” Alex Apati of Ladbrokes told The Sun.
“With Holly and Phil far from being in the British public’s good books right now, it could well be a case of New Year, new presenters, if the latest odds are anything to go by.”
An ITV source went on to confirm that Holly and Phil have no plans of quitting.
However, following the criticism, several petitions have been set up calling for the pair to call it a day.
The original petition was set up by Laura Harrison and has surpassed 75,000 signatures.
Another one to have the duo “sacked” has reached 2,000, while one petition set up by Robert Airey has surpassed 13,000 signatures.
Some viewers would like to see Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary replacing Holly and Phillip.
Alison and Dermot, host the Friday slot and replaced Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford at the beginning of the year.
At the time, Holly and Phillip explained in a voice-over why they were at Westminster Hall.
Holly began: “Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists, we were given official permission to access the hall.
“It was strictly for the purposes 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 we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back.
“In contrast, those paying respects walked around a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause.
“None of the journalists or broadcasters there took anyone’s place in the queue and no one passed by the Queen.
“We, of course, respected those rules, however, we realise it may have looked like something else.
“Therefore, (we) totally understand the reaction. Please know, that we would never jump a queue.”
Holly and Phillip sparked further outrage on Monday after Spin to Win made a return.
The competition left viewers unimpressed after it gave callers the opportunity to have their energy bills paid for.
After a short break, the competition returned on Monday but viewers still weren’t happy with the prize-winning game.
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
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