ITV has been forced to defend This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield after the presenters were accused of 'skipping queue' to Queen's lying in state.
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The pair have sparked criticism from viewers after they appeared inside Westminster Hall on Friday without having taken part in the public queue, but now This Morning bosses have cleared up the confusion on the matter in a statement posted on the official Instagram account for the daytime programme.
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In the post, they insisted that the hosting duo did not "jump the queue" and had attended not to file past the coffin but to film a This Morning segment due to air the day after the Queen's funeral.
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"Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something. We asked Phillip and Holly to be part of a film for this Tuesday's programme," the post read.
© Photo: BBCThe pair sparked criticism for not taking part in the hours-long queue
"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."
Holly and Phil haven't been the only famous faces who have paid their respects to the Queen since her coffin began lying in state at Westminster Hall ahead of her funeral on Monday 19 September.
© Photo: InstagramThis Morning posted a statement on Instagram
Fellow ITV presenter, Good Morning Britain'sSusanna Reid, queued for over seven hours earlier this week, while David Beckham, Sharon Osbourne and Tilda Swinton have also made the journey.
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Meanwhile, MPs have also received criticism from some on social media as they have been able to bypass the queue and access Westminster Hall since its doors opened to the public on Wednesday.
In the days since lying in state began, the queue has swelled in size and at one time reached a wait time of at least 24 hours, according to the official queue tracker, before dropping down to 13.5 hours on Saturday evening.
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