Petition to 'axe' Holly Willoughby and Phillip…

Petition to 'axe' Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield from This Morning reaches new high as fans defend stars

A petition to axe Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield from This Morning has reached another milestone. It has been a week since the presenting duo issued an explanation as to why they were inside Westminster Hall where the Queen was lying in state.

Following her death on September 8 and before her state funeral on September 19, Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was inside the venue for four days with hundreds of thousands of people queuing for miles across London in order to pay their final respects to the late monarch.

But fans of Holly and Phillip claimed the pair had skipped past those queuing, some for up to 14 hours, after they were spotted inside Westminster Hall on Friday, September 16. Holly, 41, looked emotional as she tied her long blonde locks back with a black scrunchie and wore a matching black mask.

Phillip was seen walking behind her in a smart black suit and tie for the visit, with the presenter sporting a sombre look on his face. On Saturday, As fans hit out at the pair, This Morning hit back at the claims that their presenters skipped the queue the following day (September 17).

It wsn't until last Tuesday, September 20, following the Queen's moving funeral at Westminster Abbey and St George's Chapel in Windsor that Holly and Phillip were able to show why they were at Westminster Hall and respond to the outrage.

Holly addressed the outrage in a video documenting the events of the last couple of weeks, from finding out the Queen had died right up until the late monarch's funeral.

During the VT, 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.

Holly and Phillip outside Westminster Hall (ITV)

"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."

But This Morning viewers haven't quite let it go and a petition to see the pair 'axed' from the show has hit a milestone. At the time of writing, more than 75,000 people had signed the Change.org petition with a new target of 150,000.

While the petition may have grown, some fans have been showing their support for the stars. @Serena2314 tweeted: "Whether Holly or Phil skipped the queue they shouldn't receive such backlash. I'm sure they weren't the only ones. The same people who are being so mean will use the #bekind hashtag if something were to happen."

Holly explained why she and Phillip were allowed past the queues (ITV)

@selz_j said: "Just leave it out about queue jumping now - they're not going to apologise, you're not going to stop watching, just stop #ThisMorning." @Boppity_Boo34 commented: "Can we please not have endless tweets about them apparently queue jumping it’s getting ridiculous now #ThisMorning."

Holly was also defended over the 'haters' as she made a return to her pre-show tradition. 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 outfit for the latest edition of the programme. "Morning Monday… see you at 10am on @thismorning," she typed alongside the image of her posing for the camera backstage."

It was clear her absence was noted as Abby Clancy was among the first to reply: " There she is !!!! Beautiful girl." And fans were also thrilled to see her back and flooded her with comments.

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