Phillip Schofield was believed to have raised worries to ITV about the potential reaction if he and Holly Willoughby were thought to be skipping the queue when they paid their respects to the late Queen as she lay in state.
While he was supposedly told that there was “nothing to worry about,” the former This Morning co-hosts were harshly chastised for the photographs of them that were afterwards disseminated, which reportedly did precisely what Phil had feared.
After announcing his resignation as an ITV presenter last week, the 61-year-old acknowledged on This Morning that he had an affair with a former runner.
Phil’s departure from the show, as well as his disclosure about his secret connection, which he described as ‘unwise but not illegal’ after the two initially met while the male colleague was a teenager, came amid rumours about his strained bond with Holly, 42.
After it was revealed that they were ‘barely communicating’ while not on television, Holly released a statement about the affair, saying, ‘It’s taken time to comprehend yesterday’s news. When I initially heard about this relationship, I asked Phil directly whether it was true, and he said no. It’s been quite upsetting to discover that this was all a hoax. Holly.’
One of the biggest news stories involving Phil and Holly in the run-up to Phil’s unexpected departure from This Morning occurred last year, when they were accused of bypassing the queue to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey while others waited for hours.
A petition was set up calling for Holly and Phil to be sacked at the time, while the former addressed the controversy in a statement that was read out on This Morning, which explained that ‘none of the journalists and broadcasters there took anyone’s place in the queue and no one filed past the Queen’.
According to reports, Phil predicted the uproar and attempted to tell This Morning’s editor Martin Frizell about the expected public reaction.
A source told The Sun: ‘It played out exactly as Phil feared. He felt he and Holly had been thrown under a bus.
‘This is why he didn’t want to apologise on air though and he was livid when Holly agreed to issue a statement on behalf of them both.’
The insider continued, alleging that ‘in effect, this was the real beginning of the end of their friendship — and the turning point’.
They added: ‘It was an appalling spell for them both and, to be fair, much of the backlash was deeply unfair.’
Following the backlash last September, the statement issued on behalf of the presenting duo, and read out by Holly, read: ‘The rules were that we would be quickly escorted around the edges to a platform at the back. In contrast, those paying their respects walked along a carpeted area beside the coffin and were given time to pause.
‘None of the journalists and broadcasters 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.’
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.
Source My Celebrity Life.