Holly Willoughby has taken to Instagram to show support for her ITV colleague as she made her dancefloor debut on Strictly Come Dancing. On Friday This Morning presenter Holly broke her silence on social media, following the row over the queue to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, to congratulate her friend Lisa Snowdon on being crowned winner of Celebrity MasterChef.
Sharing a picture of the former model clutching her trophy, Holly wrote: "Congrats. Well done clever lady!" Holly has since followed this post as she cheered on Loose Women panellist Kaye Adams as she danced for the first time on Strictly with her pro partner Kai Widdrington on Saturday night (September 24).
After the pair danced the tango to Voulez-Vous by Abba, Holly pointed out Kaye's likeness to the dancing lady emoji in her flowing red dress. "G'wan @kayeadamsofficial," she applauded. "This emoji was made for you." Holly, 41, posted the bolstering message with a big red heart emoji.
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Holly and her This Morning and Dancing On Ice co-host Phillip Schofield received backlash over their visit to Westminster Hall on Friday September 16. People took to Twitter to accuse the This Morning presenters of 'jumping the queue' to see the Queen lying in state
Hundreds of thousands of people had queued for up to 14 hours to pay their final respects to the nation's longest-reigning sovereign following her death on September 8, aged 96, at Balmoral. This Morning hit back at the claims saying they were there to report on the event.
In a statement on the programme’s Instagram account, a message read: "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."
As the duo returned to This Morning on Tuesday following the Queen's funeral, Holly addressed the outrage in a video documenting the events of the last couple of weeks right up until the late monarch's funeral. Holly could be heard saying in a voiceover as footage showed them outside Westminster Hall: "Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists, we were given official permission to access the hall.
"It was strictly for the purpose of reporting on the event for millions of people in the UK who haven't been able to visit Westminster in person." She continued: "The rules were that we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back. In contrast, those paying respects walked along a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause."
She continued: "None of the broadcasters and journalists there took anyone's place in the queue and no one filed passed the Queen. We, of course, respected those rules, however, we realise that it may have looked like something else and therefore totally understand the reaction."
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