The chief executive of ITV, Dame Carolyn McCall has publicly spoken out in support of This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield as the row over “queuegate” continues.
Dame Carolyn hit back at claims the pair had skipped the queue to see the Queen lying in state, as she argued the popular duo had been “misrepresented” by continued speculation around the alleged incident.
As a petition calling for the pair to be sacked from their roles on the show reached over 75,000 signatures, Carolyn confirmed that neither Holly nor Phil would lose their jobs as she praised them for their hard work in covering the news of the Queen’s death earlier this month.
Both Holly and Phil have been the subject of much concern in recent days, after trolls began targeting the pair online over claims they jumped the public line to pay their respects in Westminster Hall.
Even despite ITV and the presenters themselves explaining that they were present to film a segment for Tuesday’s show, fans at home were still not convinced by the explanation and called for them to apologise – or be removed – from their presenting roles on TV.
Speaking at the RTS London Convention, Dame Carolyn was asked what they did wrong, to which she candidly replied: “Honestly, nothing.”
“They did have accreditation. Lots of people saying they didn't. They were sent by This Morning to do a piece for September 20, which ran.
“They were to interview people inside and outside. They didn't displace anyone in the queue. And they've been very misrepresented, actually.
“And that's why we made a statement. Unusually, we made a statement to say all of those things. But it does show you how things spread and how misinformation just spreads. And it is really horrible for them.”
Even despite the backlash the popular duo had received, Carolyn insisted that she didn’t think that the pair had been “cancelled,” as she added: “I think they're highly relevant and still very topical, and I think the majority of their viewers love watching them.
“But there is a very shrill kind of voice against and it will hurt them.”
It isn’t just individuals that have targeting the morning duo in recent days either, as businesses have joined in the fray too, such as Dominos pizza who shared a satirical post about their alleged queue jumping – something Carolyn admitted she had complained to them about.
She said: "We just said to them, 'What are you doing?' because we work with Domino's and they said, 'We think it is really funny, don't you?'
"They just thought that was funny. They didn't think of the impact that would have on how people would pick it up and start meme-ing it.”
Even with the public negativity however, the duo are safe in their jobs, Carolyn confirmed before adding that she had spoken to the pair, and neither were “feeling great” about the continued backlash.
She added: “It's hard. You imagine yourself in the eye of the storm like this, where you're trying to say you've done nothing wrong and all the noise around you is saying that you have. It's difficult to handle.”
READ MORE:
- 'Make Holly and Phil apologise properly or bring back Eamonn,' says star
- Holly Willoughby makes social media return for first time after queue-jumping row
ITV deny Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield 'were booed for skipping queue to see Queen'
Holly Willoughby shared fear of 'being cancelled' months before queue-jumping row
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