HOLLY Willoughby will NOT quit This Morning, an insider has confirmed to The Sun.
The presenter had come under fire after she and her co-host Phillip Schofield were accused of jumping the queue to view the Queen lying in state on Friday.
Holly Willoughby is not considering stepping down from This Morning[/caption]
She and Phillip visited the Queen’s lying-in-state on Friday[/caption]
The pair filmed a video for the show outside Westminster Hall[/caption]
Members of the public were left furious as the TV presenters appeared to skip the long line, after some of them waited for up to 14 hours.
Today, Holly, 42, and Phil, 60, addressed the backlash as they insisted they would “never skip a queue”.
An ITV source confirmed to The Sun: “Holly will not quit.
“She has been devastated by all the negative reaction after she turned up to work at Westminster Hall with Phil on Friday, but she’s not going to resign.
“This Morning has been her life for more than a decade and the only way she’d consider quitting at this stage is if viewers really didn’t want her there.
“She’s tried to give their side of the story on the show today and they’re both hoping to move on from it now.
“Bosses know Holly is still a hit with viewers and are counting on her working her magic on the show for a good while yet.”
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It comes after Holly and Phil returned to This Morning today and addressed accusations they jumped the queue to see the Queen lying in state on Friday.
The presenting duo said they “understood” the backlash after they used media passes to access Westminster Hall after fellow celebrities queued for hours with members of the public.
Tuesday’s This Morning opened with a montage of emotional TV moments since Queen Elizabeth II‘s death.
The footage included a clip from inside the hall, without showing Holly and Phil as they walked past the monarch’s coffin.
Holly told viewers as the footage aired: “Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists we were given official permission to access the hall.
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“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.
“None of the broadcasters and journalists took anyone’s places in the queue and no one filed past the Queen.
“We of course respected those rules however we realised that it may have looked like something else and therefore we totally understand the reaction.
“Please know that we would never jump a queue.”
A clip followed from outside Westminster Hall as Phil reflected on his visit and said: “That’s got to be one of the most profound moments of my life.”
However fans were left unimpressed by their explanation – branding it a “pathetic excuse”.
Dozens shared their frustration on Twitter after Holly, 42, and Phil, 60, addressed the backlash following calls for them to be sacked from the ITV show.
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One viewer tweeted: “Pathetic excuse. The 3 of them @hollywills @Schofe #MartinFrizell seen a loophole to jump the queue. Since when do any of them go to an outside filming piece. Lost the last bit of trust they had with the viewers @itv #ThisMorning @thismorning”
Another raged: “They still Queue jumped. ‘we would never jumped the queue’ my a**e. They are not broadcasters, This morning is a talk show. Susanna Reid is a broadcaster for GMB and she waited hours like the rest of us. Holly and Phil have no shame, it’s a disgrace.”
As a third typed: “Well, one for the ‘Sorry if you thought it was wrong’ scrapbook. S**t explanation, they aren’t even journalists, it’s a magazine programme, no need to be there at all, let alone jump in.”
Holly and Phillip have been the subject of controversy after they were spotted on a live feed walking through Westminster Hall[/caption]
The pair addressed the backlash on This Morning on Tuesday, insisting they did not “queue jump”[/caption]
