This Morning viewers slammed the decision to press ahead with a controversial tribute to the Queen in which presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were accused of ‘queue-jumping’ to see Her Majesty’s coffin.
Tuesday’s episode of the daytime chatshow aired a special segment dedicated to the Queen, which included the much criticised footage of the pair visiting the coffin.
The hosts addressed the backlash as viewers watched a series of images of the Queen lying-in-state, with Willoughby saying they had ‘respected the rules’.
The 41-year-old assured audiences they would ‘never skip the queue’ but added she ‘understood’ the reaction.
Willoughby explained the visit was ‘strictly for the purpose of reporting the event for the many people in the UK who couldn’t see it in person.’
After seeing the coffin, Schofield said it was ‘one of the most profound’ moments of his life.
However, many This Morning viewers questioned the point of the segment, with many saying Schofield and Willoughby visiting the coffin ‘brought nothing to this report.’
They added: ‘Have I missed something? they are talking to each other outside,you can see the people with young kids outside,them walking past the coffin has brought nothing to this report, just that they benefited.’
Another angry viewer penned: ‘Chinny reck on. We didn’t need Holly and Phil to “report” on the occasion as there was a flipping live stream of the coffin.’
‘You can see in some of the pics they are just to the side of the carpet members of the public are walking so did file past the coffin #thismorning had all weekend and come up with that lame excuse,’ an audience member wrote.
A griever added: ‘Absolutely no reason for them to go to the coffin in that way as their report was diabolical. Nothing of value whatsoever. They did not talk to the public themselves. They are presenters, not journalists. #ThisMorning #queuejumpers.’
Some 250,000 mourners queued in central London to pay their final respects to the Queen as she lay-in-state at Westminster Hall before her state funeral on Monday.
At one point, the line stretched back more than five miles, while many had waited for more than 24 hours to see Her Majesty’s coffin.
Among those paying tribute to the Queen were Willoughby and Schofield, who looked very somber as they entered the hall on Friday (September 16).
However, given many grievers had camped overnight to view Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, the presenters sparked a backlash after people claimed they should have waited in line like everyone else.
Instead, they were led to a press gallery for a separate viewing prompting This Morning to issue a statement.
‘Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something’, they began.
‘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’.
Since the controversy, a petition was launched on Change.org is calling for the long-running daytime programme to be cancelled.
At the time of writing, nearly 15,000 people had signed the petition asking for Phil and Holly to be taken off air.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10 on ITV.
