Video footage of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield walking past the long queue at Westminster Hall has been posted on TikTok. The This Morning hosts have faced extreme backlash from viewers after they were accused of 'skipping the queue' - which had a wait time of up to 24 hours - for the Queen's lying in state last week, writes The Mirror.
Both presenters and ITV have vehemently denied the 'VIP access' accusations, with Holly and Phil addressing the situation head on during Tuesday's episode. A social media user has since taken to TikTok to share a clip of the presenters appearing to be led to the hall by security personnel while a crowd (outside a fenced area) wait in line in the distance.
In the clip, Phil looks to the ground while his co-presenter walked behind him. The user captioned the post: "The moment Holly and Phil jumped the queue," along with an angry face emoji. The clip has gathered over two million views and nearly 6,000 comments. People shared their opinion on the controversial matter, with one user typing: "What were they thinking?"
"If David Beckham can stand in line for 12 hours so can these ppl," another said while one posted: "The walk of shame!" However, many people defended the presenting duo and said 'they weren't queue-jumping, they were working'.
"It was a media entrance!!! I'm sure a lot more people used that entrance but aren't getting slated for it!!" one pointed out. Holly and Phil returned to our screens on Tuesday morning and addressed the situation.
They insisted they never took anyone else's place and would "never" jump the queue. "We were given official permission to access the hall, it was strictly for reporting on the event for millions of people in the UK who haven't been able to visit Westminster in person," Holly said in a pre-recorded voice over.
She added: "The rules were, that we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back. In contrast, those paying respect stood on a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause. None of the broadcasters or journalists there took anyone's place in the queue and no one filed past the Queen."
However, she admitted they understood the backlash surrounding them being at the lying in state. "We, of course, respected those rules. However, we realised it may have looked like something else and therefore totally understand the reaction. Please know we would never jump the queue," Holly concluded.
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