Piers Morgan has waded in to defend Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield after their 'queue jump' explanation didn't go down well with fans. As they returned to This Morning on Tuesday, the hosting duo were forced to explain what happened when they were spotted inside Westminster Hall while the Queen was lying in state.
Hundreds of thousands of people queued for up to 14 hours to pay their final respects to Her Majesty following her death, aged 96, at Balmoral on September 8, before she was laid to rest on Monday in a state funeral held at Westminster Abbey and at St George's Chapel in Windsor.
Appearing on This Morning on Tuesday, Holly addressed the controversy in a VT which documented the pair's visit to Westminster Hall. Holly, wearing a black pinafore dress over a white shirt, said: "Hello, good morning and welcome to Tuesday's show. As a new chapter in history begins with the reign of King Charles III, we're taking a look back on the 11 days."
They then introduced a video montage which featured clips of their coverage of the Queen's death, starting from the moment they went off air hours before Her Majesty's death was announced right up until the funeral on Monday. It also included clips of them talking to people outside Westminster Hall and discussing the feeling from inside as people said their goodbyes to the nation's longest-reining monarch.
As they moved on to the four days of the Queen lying in state, viewers heard the pair explain how they were able to enter Westminster Hall and how they didn't file past the Queen's coffin like those who had queued for hours to pay their final respects. Holly, 41, could be heard saying in a voiceover: "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. 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."
This Morning fans quickly reacted to their response, claiming it was a 'non-apology'. Prior to them going on air, a petition had already started to see them 'axed' from the ITV daytime show. Yesterday morning around 13,000 had signed in agreement but at time of writing today, the petition had attracted more that 33,000 signatures.
Discussing the outcry on his TalkTV show, Uncensored, on Tuesday night, Piers said Holly and Phillip, 60, had been "the subject of a ridiculously over the top campaign". He said: "There's 25,000 people that have signed to have them fired. Of course they shouldn't be fired - it's ridiculous!
"It may have been a misjudgement - I said myself on this on my show, I don't think anyone should have been jumping the queue full stop, whoever you are unless you're a world leader or there's a time issue."
After sharing a clip of the explanation read out by Holly, Piers added: "The rules were, that we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back. In contrast, those paying respect stood on a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause. None of the broadcasters or journalists there took anyone's place in the queue and no one filed past the Queen."
The 57-year-old TV star and journalist then added: "Full disclosure - I'm a good friend of Holly's, I feel so sorry for her. She's absolutely distraught, I think, about the reaction. I genuinely think in her head that there was a blurring of the line about work - if you're working and you're covering it, I think a lot of journalists went through there. Isabel did, I know other journalists who did it and haven't been subjected to all of this."
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