Holly Willoughby has brought in lawyers following the intense public backlash she and colleague Phillip Schofield have faced after 'skipping the queue'.
The pair, who are close friends and co-host This Morning together, were embroiled in a scandal after social media footage appeared to show them 'skip the queue' to see the Queen lying in state. The pair have vehemently denied pushing in front of mourners and said that they got through with official permission that was "strictly for reporting" as they are "accredited journalists".
'Distraught' Holly is facing growing fury along with fellow ITV presenter, Philip, and a 29,000-strong petition for the pair to quit alleges they 'abused their positions to see the Queen lie in state'. A source told The Sun on Tuesday that "Holly had to get lawyers over the weekend over the presentation of this false, very damaging narrative" after images emerged on Friday which appeared to show they "skipped the queue".
Holly was said to be in floods of tears and she and Phil - who reportedly gets paid as much as £600,000 to host the ITV show - begged This Morning bosses to defend them. A source close to Holly also told the MailOnline that producers have assured her that viewer reaction has not been as bad as the social media fallout.
"Many show insiders still fear what the future may hold but bosses seem to have calmed her down from the weekend where she was very upset about the whole thing. The row has only brought her close to Philip too," the source said.
MailOnline revealed that "panicking" bosses at This Morning were worried that Holly was so distraught by ITV's failure to act sooner that she might quit. However, it's now been reported that she will ride out the storm and stay at This Morning.
A source told The Sun: "She has been devastated by all the negative reaction after she turned up to work at Westminster Hall with Phil on Friday, but she's not going to resign. This Morning has been her life for more than a decade and the only way she'd consider quitting at this stage is if viewers really didn't want her there.
"She's tried to give their side of the story on the show today and they're both hoping to move on from it now. Bosses know Holly is still a hit with viewers and are counting on her working her magic on the show for a good while yet."
An ITV source said: "We absolutely made it clear at the time that it was part of a broadcast due to air on Tuesday. This was communicated from the outset, and we gave this information immediately. There have been no crisis discussions or talks about Holly not being part of This Morning moving forward."
Get the latest celebrity gossip and telly news sent straight to your inbox. Sign up to our weekly Showbiz newsletter here .
