‘Just tell the truth!’ Eamonn Holmes hits out at ‘arrogant’ ex-colleagues Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield AGAIN as he accuses them of ‘lying’ about queue-gate
Eamonn Holmes has hit out at Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield again, accusing them both of ‘lying’ about not skipping the queue to see the Queen lying in state.
Holly and Philip were accused of jumping the queue at Westminster Hall in London last week while tens of thousands of mourners patiently waited for 12 hours at a time to pay their respects to Her Majesty.
The presenters later released a statement insisting they didn’t skip the queue and ‘respected’ the rules for the media, saying their visit was ‘strictly for reporting’.
Speaking out: Eamonn Holmes has hit out at Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield again, accusing them both of ‘lying’ about not skipping the queue to see the Queen lying in state
Speaking on GB News Breakfast on Wednesday, Eamonn, 62, made no bones about the fact he didn’t believe his former colleagues and said they ‘messed up’.
Chatting with presenter Clare Muldoon, Eamonn said: ‘I’ll tell you what’s strategic. Why is Holly fighting to keep her job, according to The Sun, but Mr Phillip isn’t?
Clare replied: ‘Who knows? Twitter, last night, was saying she didn’t want to vacate her job at This Morning.
‘Who wouldn’t want to give up £600,000 a year and everything else that comes with it? I think the brand is very damaged. There has to be a change from the top down to the bottom on This Morning.’
Professional visit: The presenters have faced growing fury after images of them appearing to ‘skip the queue’ emerged on Friday while tens of thousands of mourners patiently waited
Criticism: Speaking on GB News Breakfast on Wednesday, Eamonn, 62, made no bones about the fact he didn’t believe his former colleagues and said they ‘messed up’
Eamonn then read out the statement from Holly and Phillip, saying: ‘”We didn’t jump the queue, we were working.” Why was your boss there working with you?’
Referring to a photo of Holly wearing a mask inside Westminster Hall, Clare asked: ‘Why was she wearing a mask? Is she allergic to the public?’
Eamonn answred: ‘No, she does that. “Holly’s in tears”, but Holly’s always in tears. But wearing a mask – I think she’s quite fearful, germophobic.’
Eamonn’s co-presenter Isabel Webster said Holly and Philip fast-tracking was no different to what other broadcasters did while covering the Queen lying in state.
Eamonn was still unimpressed though and said: ‘They didn’t get a fast-track, they say. Lie. They say they didn’t pay their respects to the body. Lie.
‘What else were they there for? Let’s just tell the truth about the whole thing.
‘Sacked’: Meanwhile, Eamon also made his feelings known on Twitter as he responded with praying hands emojis to a user who wrote: ‘They [Holly and Phillip] should be sacked, Eamonn and Ruth are far better than them idiots’
‘They messed up, and instead of being arrogant and saying, “We were there working as journalists”, why don’t they just say, “Yeah, we thought it would be a good idea”.’
Meanwhile, Eamon also made his feelings known on Twitter as he responded with praying hands emojis to a user who wrote: ‘They [Holly and Phillip] should be sacked, Eamonn and Ruth are far better than them idiots’.
It comes after Eamonn made another sly dig at Holly and Phillip after it was claimed they jumped the queue.
While ITV has strongly denied any wrongdoing on their and Holly and Phil’s part, Eamonn – who has made no secret of his ongoing feud with Phillip after he and his wife Ruth Langsford were axed from presenting This Morning on Fridays – has been unable to resist making light of their situation.
Naughty: It comes after Eamonn made another sly dig at Holly and Phillip after it was claimed they jumped the queue
After making a savage dig at his former colleagues during an appearance on GB News this week, Eamonn took to Twitter to respond to a meme posted by a Twitter user of him and wife Ruth which referenced the queue-jumping saga.
In the image, Ruth, 62, is seen walking into a room in front of Eamonn with her hand over her mouth while Eamonn is laughing behind her.
The text on the picture read: ‘When you reach the front of the queue.’
Joke: Eamonn took to Twitter to respond to a meme posted by a Twitter user of him and wife Ruth which referenced the queue-jumping saga
Cheeky: Eamonn – who has made no secret of his ongoing feud with Phillip – has been unable to resist making light of their situation
Eamonn commented on the snap: ‘Ha ha …. Nice one,’ along with a thumbs-up emoji.
The Twitter user wrote along with their post: ‘I always preferred @EamonnHolmes and @RuthieeL #ThisMorning.’
This is not the first time Eamonn has addressed the controversy – he first made a savage dig at Holly and Phil during an appearance on GB News this week.
Hitting out: It comes after Eamonn (left) made a dig at Phillip and Holly during a recent appearance on GB News (Eamonn pictured with his GB News co-host Isabel Webster)
Eamonn’s GB News co-host Isabel introduced a guest, saying: ‘[They] suffered that queue and they were not of any insignificant age, we’ll be talking to them after this.’
Jumping at the opportunity to criticise Phil and Holly, Eamonn chimed in: ‘What, Holly and Phillip?’
Sources claimed today that a ‘distraught’ Holly will not quit This Morning over the ‘queue skipping row’ – as she and her ‘dumbstruck’ co-star Phillip battle an escalating public backlash for apparently ‘jumping the line’ to see the Queen lying in state at the Palace of Westminster – but show insiders ‘still fear what future holds’ for the ITV star.
Visit: Holly and Phil outside the Houses of Parliament. The pair deny ‘skipping the queue’ to see the Queen’s coffin
The ‘devastated’ presenters – who are reportedly paid as much as £600,000 for hosting the popular daytime show from Mondays to Thursdays, and not Friday – have faced growing fury after images of them appearing to ‘skip the queue’ emerged on Friday while tens of thousands of mourners patiently waited for 12 hours at a time to pay their respects to Her Majesty.
Holly was reportedly in floods of tears as she and Phil both begged This Morning bosses to defend them from the ensuing storm – and were furious that ITV sat on their hands before issuing a short statement defending the pair on Saturday.
A source close to Holly told the MailOnline that they ‘spent most of today speaking to producers about queue-gate, they have assured her that viewer reaction has not been as bad as the social media fallout.
Heading in: The TV stars said they acknowledged the strength of feeling but refused to apologise, claiming they were at the venue to work as broadcasters for the people who couldn’t be there themselves
‘Many show insiders still fear what the future may hold but bosses seem to have calmed her down from the weekend where she was very upset about the whole thing. The row has only brought her close to Philip too.’
Speaking of the anger directed at Holly and Phil, the insider continued: ‘When they started being bombarded with messages via social media they were simply stunned. They’ve been left astonished at the way the whole thing has mushroomed.
‘That’s the main reason they wanted something to be said on Saturday [when This Morning issued a statement] and why they were insistent the show needed to address it head on on Tuesday.
Onlookers: Schofield and Willoughby are seen in a video posted on TikTok leaving Westminster Hall after they carried out filming and were accused of jumping the queue
‘Holly, in particular, has been left totally distraught by this. She’s been in floods of tears at some of the things she’s been called and of the behaviour she’s been accused of.
‘She’d never jump a queue or behave in that way and is heartbroken that people think she would.
‘Producers and staff at This Morning are rallying round. They are a close knit team but there is a concern at how it has impacted on Holly and has left many wondering if it’s pushed her close to the exit.’
Addressing the controversy on today’s episode of This Morning, Miss Willoughby and Mr Schofield doubled down on their claim that they had not skipped the queue, and instead had entered Westminster Hall in their capacity as broadcasters so they could display the solemn scenes to viewers who were unable to file past the coffin themselves.
Show hosts: Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on ITV’s This Morning
MailOnline exclusively revealed today that panicking bosses at This Morning were worried that Holly was so distraught by ITV’s failure to act sooner that she might quit.
But it has now emerged that Holly will not be leaving, with a source telling The Sun: ‘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.’
More than 35,000 people have signed a petition demand that Holly and Phil be sacked from ITV.
An ITV source said: ‘We absolutely made it clear at the time that it was part of a broadcast due to air on Tuesday. This was communicated from the outset, and we gave this information immediately. There have been no crisis discussions or talks about Holly not being part of This Morning moving forward.’
MailOnline understands that the pair personally insisted that fiasco be addressed at the start of the show and believe ITV should not have waited so long to speak out on the matter – spending the weekend ‘locked in talks’ with TV producers.
A source revealed: ‘Philip and Holly are dumbstruck at the level of anger they’ve received in the past few days. They felt ITV should have made it clearer, right away, that it was part of a broadcast.’
In the first episode of the show since the alleged queue-jumping occurred, Holly and Phil strongly denied the claims, and said they had been in Westminster Hall to work.
Public opinion: More than 35,000 people have signed a petition demand that Holly and Phil be sacked from ITV
They said: ‘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 have not 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 respect walked along a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause.
‘None of the broadcasters and journalists there took anyone’s place in the queue and no one filed past 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. Please know that we would never jump a queue.’
Speaking out: This Morning bosses denied show hosts Holly and Phillip had ‘VIP access’ and filed ‘past the Queen lying in state’
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