Huw Edwards took a very public swipe at ‘queue jumpers’ at Westminster Hall, after the controversy surrounding Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby and denials from This Morning that they’d pushed in as others waited for over 12 hours to see the Queen lying in state.
Huw, the broadcaster who broke news of Her Majesty’s passing to millions of BBC viewers, shortly after 6.30pm on Thursday, September 8, has been an almost constant presence on screen after her death, fronting coverage of many of the events that have followed, including the moving procession from
Buckingham Palace to Westminster, as the Queen’s coffin was followed by a Royal party which included King Charles III and Princes William and Harry.
Huw was back on BBC on Sunday evening as the nation fell silent for a minute in memory of Her Majesty, on the eve of her funeral and made a very thinly veiled dig at stars who hadn’t queued up with the public to get into Westminster Hall, unlike David Beckham and Susanna Reid, with the football icon and GMB host both waiting in line for hours on end.
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As millions tuned in at home and cameras rolled, Huw remarked: “There have been quite a few familiar faces in the queue for that lying in state. We did of course see a certain David Beckham there on Friday. He was widely praised for queuing for hours and hours, not jumping the queue because he’s a superstar VIP; no he was in the queue for many hours. Good for him.”
Many people who witnessed Huw’s comments took his statement to be a direct dig at Phillip and Holly, after they were clocked gaining access to Westminster Hall in a separate queue, by people watching the BBC lying in state live stream early on Friday afternoon.
This Morning has now denied any wrong doing on their part, after a spokesperson had already clammed they didn’t actually file past the Queen’s coffin.
The statement from This Morning reads: "Hello everyone, we'd 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."
That statement did little to satisfy the outrage held my some people, with them applauding Huw for his very public put down, with one fan reacting: “Love him.. Huw Edwards needs knighting.” And others were totally convinced he was talking aim at Phillip and Holly, with another tweeting: "We all know that was aimed at @hollywills and @Schofe."
A second commented: "@thehuwedwards you are a legend. Unlike those other two.."
Other celebs thought to have queued up along with the public to get into Westminster Hall include Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Holmes, James Blunt and Oscar winning actress Tilda Swinton.
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