Holly Willoughby sparked concern among This Morning viewers last week as she appeared downcast following her and co-host Phillip Schofield's 'queue jump' backlash. The pair have come under fire from viewers after being spotted in Westminster Hall while the Queen was lying in state.
They were seen inside the venue on September 16, days before the Queen's state funeral following her death on September 8 while thousands of people joined a queue stretching across London to be able to pay their final respects to the late monarch. This Morning hit back at the claims saying they were there to report on the event.
As the duo returned to This Morning on Tuesday following the Queen's funeral, Holly addressed the outrage in a video documenting the events of the last couple of weeks right up until the late monarch's funeral. Holly could be heard saying in a voiceover as footage showed them outside Westminster Hall: "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." She continued: "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."
But tens of thousands of people ended up signing a petition to see Holly, 41, and Phillip, 60, axed from This Morning as they slammed the duo's 'non-apology'.
As viewers expressed their worry for Holly, who appeared slightly subdued compared to her usually bubbly self, it was also noted that she had broken her own This Morning tradition. She hadn't returned to social media to share her daily outfit deets with her daily pictures often attracting a lot of attention on Instagram as she tells her millions of followers what she's wearing alongside the hashtag 'HWStyle'.
However, normality resumed on Monday, September 26, as prior to returning to the popular show with Phillip, she took to Instagram to share a closer look at her look for the latest programme. "Morning Monday… see you at 10am on @thismorning," she typed alongside the image of her posing for the camera backstage.
"Today we’re joined by everyone’s favourite love story Harry Redknapp and his beautiful Sandra… #hwstyle skirt and knitwear by @cefinnstudio," she added. And the mum-of-three caught everyone's eye as she donned a pink jumper which she wore tucked into a matching mixed pink pleated shirt.
It was clear her absence was noted as Abby Clancy was among the first to reply: " There she is !!!! Beautiful girl." Nicole Appleton typed: " Gorgeous!" While Kate Thornton posted a string of love heart eye emojis. And fans were thrilled to see her back and flooded her with comments.
@beautywillsxx said: "So glad you've posted." @kelwalsh83 wrote: "There she is brightening our day! keep doing what you do beautiful lady! you have more lovers than haters." @toadstoolsandrainbows commented: "You look beautiful. Keep your chin up, the world's gone mad."
@handmade_with_love_by_jenna posted: "I missed these posts! Looking lovely hope you’re doing ok." @katielchambers replied: "Stunning as always. You’ve got plenty of fans here who love and adore you. Leave the keyboard warriors to get on with their sad lives."@casasalmoros typed: "Beautiful Holly. You're fabulous and do a great job." @singercharlotteforman added: "You look beautiful."
On Friday This Morning presenter Holly broke her silence on social media to congratulate her friend Lisa Snowdon on being crowned winner of Celebrity MasterChef. Sharing a picture of the former model clutching her trophy, Holly wrote: "Congrats. Well done clever lady!"
Holly has since followed this post as she cheered on Loose Women panellist Kaye Adams as she danced for the first time on Strictly with her pro partner Kai Widdrington on Saturday night (September 24). After the pair danced the tango to Voulez-Vous by Abba, Holly pointed out Kaye's likeness to the dancing lady emoji in her flowing red dress. "G'wan @kayeadamsofficial," she applauded. "This emoji was made for you." Holly, 41, posted the bolstering message with a big red heart emoji.
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