The Holly and Phil backlash continues. Graham Norton has responded to the ongoing controversy surrounding the TV presenters' alleged 'queue jump' during the Queen's Lying in State at Westminster Hall.
Norton, 59, has said Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were "foolish" to think they wouldn't receive a backlash. The ITV This Morning hosts were given media accreditation to film the occasion for the morning show like other broadcasters. However, many were angry after pictures later emerged.
Graham Norton has now said he was offered to skip the regular queue by an MP, but refused to do so as he feared backlash, reported the Express. The popular host claimed there was a two-tier system for the occasion and not just one queue for everybody.
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He added: "You could queue jump! Yeah. Now I got offered a queue jump ticket by a friend of mine – he’s an MP and he said, 'do you wanna come?' And I didn’t say yes – because I thought if anybody sees me I’ll get it in the neck."
Speaking to Nihal Arthanayak on Radio 5 Live on Monday, September 27, he went on to say that Phillip, 59, and Holly, 41, may have assumed people "wouldn't care" about their actions saying: "I guess that that’s their crime".
"The actual queue jumping? They did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong. But foolish of them to not think that people would be annoyed."
ITV This Morning has already issued a statement defending the pair and Holly has also addressed the reaction. In a VT reflecting on the Queen's funeral, she explained: "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."
Holly continued: "We, of course, respected those rules, however, we realise it may have looked like something else and therefore totally understand the reaction. Please know, we would never jump a queue."
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
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