Holly Willoughby has shared her experience of her 'magical' bus ride that saw her front and centre for the Queen's second and last appearance of the Platinum Jubilee weekend on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
The This Morning star, who returned to the ITV daytime show on Monday (June 6) alongside Phillip Schofield after the half-term break, was one of the famous faces chosen to represent one of the seven decades showcased during Sunday's Platinum Pageant, paying homage to the Queen's 70-year reign.
Holly, 41, hopped aboard the 2010's bus alongside BBC Radio 2 star Rylan Clark, his former X Factor mentor Nicole Scherzinger, and Coronation Street star Antony Cotton, who has been celebrating being awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
The presenter was able to soak up the incredible atmosphere in the capital for the pageant, which started at Whitehall before processing up The Mall and finishing outside Buckingham Palace around Queen Victoria Memorial. The host of famous faces also included models Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, and music stars Cliff Richard and Tony Hadley, who appeared as part of the street parade in decorated, open-top, double-decker buses each themed to a decade during The Time of Our Lives segment.
"The bus was amazing," Holly told her co-host Phillip, 60, and This Morning viewers as they discussed the four-day weekend. "You couldn’t believe what you were seeing – just so many people, so much love and affection. It was just magical." She added: "Every corner, every bend there was people there, then the Royal Family being there, and Ed Sheeran performing on stage!"
But the mum-of-three said of the moment the Queen appeared on the balcony alongside her three heirs to the throne: "Nobody knew, obviously you don’t know, you hope, you think maybe you might get to see something. And then suddenly you heard this roar and we turned around and there was the family on the balcony. And it was, you just felt like you were part of, you were seeing a piece of history… amazing."
"I'm overwhelmed, I still can’t quite believe it," Holly commented before adding: "I felt like a competition winner," as a clip of the TV star appeared on screen looking emotional alongside Rylan follow the Queen's balcony appearance and rendition of the national anthem.
On Sunday night Holly took to Instagram with a series of snaps from the special event, marking the end of the official Platinum Jubilee celebrations. "Day of dreams…. Happy Happy Platinum Jubilee your Majesty… we LOVE you," she wrote to her millions of followers alongside the string of images which included her posing for selfies on the bus.
But the presenter did come under fire after fans spotted an awkward moment when she was quizzed by AJ Odudu on the experience while taking part in the pageant during the BBC's live coverage on BBC One. "Missed the eye rolling when the reporter came to you whilst you were trying to take selfies hmmm," one of her followers commented. A fellow follower replied: “I saw it too! Didn’t give a good impression."
Others, however, were quick to crown Holly a 'national treasure and flooded her with compliments over her 'beautiful' look for the occasion as she donned a floral blue halterneck gown.
