Dame Kelly Holmes reveals she waited seven hours in the queue to see the Queen's coffin with a 90-year-old former serviceman. Dame Kelly spoke glowingly of a man named John Collinson who she befriended while they were waiting in line together at the Palace of Westminster on Saturday.
The Loose Women star and British Olympic hero was in the queue for more than 11 hours after feeling 'compelled' to pay her respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II. Dame Kelly, who joined the army at 17 and is an Honorary Colonel of the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment, says she took John 'under her wing' until first-aiders outside the Houses of Parliament said he could be fast tracked.
The gold medal-winning athlete was in Liverpool after attending the National Diversity Awards before deciding to make the journey to London. She told her fellow panellists on the ITV chat show Loose Women: "I changed my arrangements, got on a train at 7am. I felt so compelled to have to join that queue.
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She added: "I've talked very openly about my miltary service and giving that oath of allegiance. I got some warm clothes to change in the toilets at Charing Cross and ended up joining the queue."
She said about the experience: "I have to say it was the most moving, joyous moment of togetherness." Dame Kelly gave a 'shout out' on the show to her new friend John as she told how he was reluctant to move on without her.
"Opposite the Houses of Parliament the first-aiders came up and said 'you can go up in front to the queue, to the fast-track.' And he was looking at me because I'd taken him under his wing at the time, sharing my chips and taking him to the toilet.
"I said 'you can go because you've done your service' because he'd also served in the military and was talking to me about having King George VI walking past him on his parade. He was so proud."
Viewers praised Dame Kelly for sharing her story after ITV colleagues, Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, faced backlash over their visit to Westminster Hall. People took to Twitter to accuse the This Morning presenters of 'jumping the queue' to see the Queen lying in state on Friday (September 16).
Their appearance quickly caused backlash after hundreds of thousands of people 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 over the weekend 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."
Viewers were eagerly awaiting Holly and Phillip's return to screens. And following the Queen's state funeral on Monday, a montage featuring 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 which took place yesterday, was screened.
Holly said 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."
She then added: "Please know that we would never jump a queue." But This Morning viewers were still left unimpressed. But viewers have since expressed their outrage, slamming it as a non-apology.
@ChristineCarr tweeted: "Addressing it via a pre recorded Holly 'we haven’t done anything wrong so we’re not sorry' statement is really patronising. Turned #ThisMorning off." And @Happysnipper1 echoed: "Turned off #ThisMorning after no apology."
@jackryanmiller wrote: "I’m struggling to move forward with the fact that these two haven’t acknowledged how wrong they are!! #thismorning." And @agcrandon fumed: "Not an apology at all in my mind. Should have addressed it live! Shame on you @Schofe @hollywills #ThisMorning #queuejumping."
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