Phillip Schofield has spoken out on the 'queuegate' scandal that surrounded him and This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby - two months on from issuing their explanation on the ITV daytime show.
Back in September, the presenting duo were accused of jumping the public queue to see the Queen lying in state. Phillip and Holly were seen on Friday, September 16 inside Westminster Hall where Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was placed for four days before her state funeral, with hundreds of thousands of people queuing for miles across London in order to pay their final respects to the late monarch.
This Morning quickly hit back at the claims that their presenters skipped the queue, which at its peak reached a 14-hour wait for those wanting to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II following her death on September 8, aged 96. But this didn't stop This Morning viewers from signing a petition in their thousands to see Holly and Phillip removed from the programme.
However, during their first day back on This Morning following their appearance in Westminster Hall on Tuesday, September 20, 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, the mum-of-three 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.
"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."
Last month, during an appearance at the National Television Awards, after This Morning won the daytime gong for the fifth consectuive year, Phillip was questioned on the queuing drama. He was asked by a member of the press: "Phil do you think this vindicates you for queue-gate? Do you think now that you've won this the public have said 'actually we don't care that much' about queue gate?" But Phillip replied: "We are so grateful to our amazing viewers. We love them" before rushing off in a clip that has now been shared on social media.
He has now been quizzed on the scandal again, this time by GB News. In a clip aired on Dan Wootton's Tonight programme, Phillip was asked: "Do you feel vindicated?’" to which the 60-year-old replied: "I think that it was a shame that what happened, happened." He was also asked by GB News if he would now own the situation and issue an apology.
"Why would I apologise?" he asked before adding: "You’ve already seen that 700 other journalists did exactly the same thing."
When Dan Wootton Tonight’s senior producer Ben Leo said: "But they were accredited. And you never actually filmed anything. Nothing was ever broadcast," Phillip responded: "We weren’t allowed to film inside."
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