ITV show This Morning has insisted its presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby did not “jump the queue” for Queen Elizabeth II’s lying in state.
he pair have received criticism on social media after they appeared inside Westminster Hall without having taken part in the queue.
The This Morning presenters Willoughby and Schofield queued in a separate line to the thousands of mourners who waited hours to view the Queen lying in state in the ancient hall.
Earlier on Saturday, a source told MailOnline: “They did not get to pay their respects to the Queen in the same way as queueing members of the public but they filmed in a section put aside for press.”
But taking to Instagram on Saturday evening, the broadcaster rushed to the defence of the pair, insisting that they had in fact been at the event in a “professional capacity”, for which they were granted VIP access to report upon.
A statement on the programme’s social media account said: “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.”
Other stars such as Tilda Swinton, David Beckham and Susanna Reid, waited hours in the main queue to view the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall.
