Phillip Schofield ‘is DUMPED from £1million We Buy Any Car deal’ in the wake of his queue-jumping scandal
- This Morning star Phillip Schofield has ‘been dropped as the £1million face of We Buy Any Car’
- He and co-host Holly Willoughby are battling claims that they jumped the queue for the Queen’s lying in state
- Pair have even faced calls to resign – while petition demanding they be sacked got 75,000 signatures
This Morning star Phillip Schofield has reportedly been dropped as the £1million face of We Buy Any Car as the fallout from widespread claims that he and his co-host Holly Willoughby jumped the 14-hour queue to see the Queen lying in state continues.
The ITV presenters are battling a huge backlash for apparently skipping the line into Westminster Hall to pay respects to Her Majesty – and have even faced calls to resign from their lucrative jobs with This Morning, with a petition demanding they quit or be sacked gaining 75,000 signatures.
It has now emerged that Schofield’s contract with We Buy Any Car has been allowed to lapse, while the company is reportedly shooting new ads next week without the television star and he no longer appears on its website in the wake of ‘queue-gate’.
Phillip has appeared in countless tongue-in-cheek ads for We Buy Any Car since striking a deal with the company in 2017. However, We Buy Any Car, which purchases second hand vehicles for cash, was among several brand’s teased in the wake of the scandal, with memes changing their branding to We Jump Any Queue shared widely on social media.
‘Next week they’re [We Buy Any Car] shooting a new campaign and he’s [Schofield] not involved in it,’ a source told The Sun. ‘There’s clearly a feeling within the company that he’s just not the right fit for the future and his contract will be allowed to expire.
‘It has been a very successful partnership but it’s time for a change.’
The ITV presenters are battling a huge backlash for apparently skipping the line into Westminster Hall to pay respects to Her Majesty – and have even faced calls to resign from their lucrative jobs with This Morning
We Buy Any Car has now dropped Phillip Schofield from their Facebook page. He previously featured on their cover photo
Instead the car-buying service has used a stock image of a happy family alongside the company’s logo
A petition claims the This Morning hosts were ‘given privileges that deprived others’. It received more than 75,000 signatures
ITV boss insists Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield will NOT be sacked over Queen queue skipping row and says ordeal has been ‘really horrible for them’
The chief executive of ITV has said Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby have been ‘misrepresented’ over claims they skipped the queue for the Queen’s lying in state.
Dame Carolyn McCall said the This Morning co-presenters were safe in their jobs, despite an online petition to have them fired, and praised their work for the broadcaster.
The pair have been targeted on social media over claims they jumped the public line to pay their respects in Westminster Hall earlier this month.
Programme bosses have stressed the hosting duo attended as members of the media to film a segment for the following Tuesday’s show.
Speaking at the RTS London Convention, Dame Carolyn was asked what they did wrong.
She replied: ‘Honestly, nothing. Honestly. 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.’
A spokesperson for webuyanycar told the paper: ‘Webuyanycar and Phillip Schofield agreed earlier this year that the webuyanycar/Phillip Schofield campaign would come to an end in 2022, having worked together for over five years. The decision was made prior to any recent stories regarding Phillip.’
MailOnline has contacted webuyanycar and a representative for Schofield for further information.
It comes after the chief executive of ITV revealed that the broadcaster complained to Domino’s Pizza after the fast food chain mocked Schofield and Willoughby over their alleged queue jumping.
Domino’s UK tweeted a mock apology to customers last Tuesday, joking that Schofield and Miss Willoughby were being served first.
‘Apologies to anyone waiting on their pizza,’ the post read. ‘We’ve just received an order from Holly and Phil #ThisMorning.’
Speaking at the RTS London Convention, Dame Carolyn McCall said the food giant ‘didn’t think of the impact’ the tweet would have on the presenters.
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. I think that’s what happens with these things which are… They did not do anything wrong.
‘They were with loads of other broadcasters, many of whom you know, and they were with lots of press journalists.’
The pair were targeted on social media over claims they jumped the public line to pay their respects in Westminster Hall earlier this month.
It came as David Beckham waited in line for almost 14 hours to pay his respects to the Queen despite being offered a pass by an MP to jump the queue.
Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid also waited for seven hours with her mother to file past the coffin as well as celebrities including Daniel Mays and Tilda Swinton.
Addressing the furore on last Tuesday’s This Morning, Miss Willoughy insisted they ‘would never jump a queue’ and claimed their visit ‘was strictly for the purpose of reporting on the event for millions of people in the UK’ who had not been able to visit in person.
Dame Carolyn said the presenters had been ‘misrepresented’ and insisted they were safe in their jobs, despite an online petition to have them fired topping 76,000.
Asked what they did wrong, she replied: ‘Honestly, nothing. Honestly. 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… 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.’
Holly and Phillip on an episode of ITV’s This Morning in the wake of ‘queue-gate’
Birdseye view: This graphic of Westminster Abbey shows the areas permitted for the public and media, and the spot where the presenters were seen
A photo of Westminster Abbey showing where the public queue was and where Holly and Phil appeared to be walking
Phillip Schofield’s picture is DROPPED from We Buy Any Car’s Facebook page after Queen queuing row
We Buy Any Car has now dropped Phillip Schofield from their Facebook page amid accusations he skipped the queue to see the Queen lying-in-state with This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby.
Phillip Schofield, 60, has been the brand ambassador for We Buy Any Car since 2019, regularly appearing in adverts and challenges.
But We Buy Any Car’s Facebook page, which has over 30,000 likes, has now dropped the previously much-loved presenter from its cover photo.
Instead the car-buying service has used a stock image of a happy family alongside the company’s logo.
Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby have come under fire over allegations that they skipped queues to see the Queen lying-in-state at Westminster Hall.
Confirming the duo are secure in the jobs at This Morning, Dame Carolyn added that she had texted both and that they were not ‘feeling great’.
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.’
Video showed Holly and Phil walking through Westminster Hall as around 250,000 people waited to bid a final farewell to the Queen – many waiting up to 24 hours for the opportunity.
Last week Holly said: ‘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.’
Despite their public acknowledgement of the incident, fans still remain unhappy with the explanation given.
The creator of the online petition, Laura Harrison, has continued to post updates and is eager to get the TV hosts off our screens. She said that with the number of signatures the petition has gained they could nearly fill Wembley stadium.
She said on Monday: ‘In most industries one or two complaints made against staff or their employer, would be enough for their managers to raise concerns and check what happened, for apologies to be made, and in some cases, grievances.
‘In precarious gig economy roles, those one or two complaints can cost people their jobs, and if three hundred complained about one or two members of staff, I’m sure it wouldn’t go unnoticed by their managerial board.
‘So how is it that in the entertainment industry they can avoid so many people asking for change? It didn’t need to get this far, and I really honestly hoped it wouldn’t.’
She continued: ‘70,000+ signatures later and I can’t believe it got this far.
‘I have expressed my reasons for being concerned, and the harm that I believe these shows recurrently do. I’m so sick of ITV inquiries, and masses of Ofcom reports, but here we are with a different example.
‘I have done everything I can to voice the concerns of those that have signed, including writing to Ofcom, and sending a letter to the Board of Directors at ITV. I have also stressed the significant psychological burden these shows place on their viewers and their presenters, and how mentally draining they’ve become.
‘This isn’t just a petition about a queue-jump. It’s about the need for change, for hope, for something else than daytime TV and questionable journalism. Daytime TV shows are designed to keep people incarcerated. But people deserve better than that.’
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