Petition to axe ITV’s This Morning over Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby ‘queue jump’ row gathers pace

A petition has been launched to get ITV’s This Morning “axed for good” following claims that Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby used their fame to skip the long queue to see the Queen’s coffin.

Following Queen Elizabeth’s death, her coffin was moved to Westminster Abbey where thousands began to queue to see the longest reigning monarch lying in state.

It was reported that some mourners had queued for over 30 hours, while presenters Holly and Phil walked past the long line and into the press viewing gallery.

The TV duo have recieved a flood of backlash, with one woman starting a petition to get the show “axed for good”.

She stated that the show “causes more harm than good” and that the least ITV can do is remove the two “toxic presenters” from the show.

The petition creator also mentioned how earlier this month, This Morning turned “cost of living anxiety into a game show”.

The ITV show announced a new twist to its popular Spin to Win game, offering prizes such as four months of energy bills being paid for.

Fans called this a “sad reflection on society” and “depressing”, while others said it was “really patronising” from Phil and Holly.

At the time of writing, the petition has almost 8,000 signatures -exceeding the goal of 7,500.

On top of this, two former This Morning hosts Fern Britton and Eamonn Holmes have made a public dig at the queue-jumping duo.

Fern took to Twitter on Friday, sarcastically asking her followers: “There’s a VIP line?”

Eamonn, who now presents Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel, discussed the Queen’s funeral on the GB News show this morning with guests Dawn Neesom and Christopher Biggins.

When Dawn said “everybody had come together” in an effort to pay their respects, Eamonn took a swipe at his former colleagues, saying “except not everyone came together”.

However, This Morning issued a now-deleted statement on Instagram explaining that Holly and Phillip were there “in a professional capacity”.

They wrote: “Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something.

“We asked Phillip and Holly to be part of a film for this Tuesday’s programme.

“They did not jump the queue, have VIP access or file past the Queen lying in state – but instead were there in a professional capacity as part of the world’s media to report on the event.”

The outrage comes after the likes of David Beckham and Susanna Reid were praised for standing in the queue among the public.

The former England footballer was seen looking emotional as he bowed to Queen Elizabeth’s coffin, following a 13-hour wait in the streets of London.