Anne Hegerty defends Holly and Phil over 'queue jumping'

Anne Hegerty defends Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield over ‘queue jumping’ to see the Queen lying in state and SLAMS ‘rude’ people

Anne Hegerty has defended Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby amid a row over ‘jumping the queue’ to see the Queen lying in state.

The This Morning presenters were forced to deny they queue-jumped on Friday after they filmed a segment for the ITV show.

The Chase star Anne, 64, took to her Twitter account following the backlash, slamming ‘rude people’.

Backlash: Anne Hegerty has defended Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby amid a row over ‘jumping the queue’ to see the Queen lying in state on Friday 

Sticking up for her ITV colleagues, she wrote: ‘My understanding is that Holly and Phil weren’t in a VIP line, they were in a press line and about to do a piece to camera.’

Anne went on to share a link to an article about the morning hosts, where she slammed the queue jumping claims and said: ‘You’re all being extremely rude.’

Interacting with her followers and correcting herself, she later said: ‘Yes, I was wrong about them doing a piece to camera from Westminster Hall. But I was right that they were there to work. 

‘They were being escorted from one part of the hall to another by people whose job it is to escort those with media accreditation.’

Denial: This Morning bosses have denied Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield had ‘VIP access’ and filed ‘past the Queen lying in state’ as they filmed a segment for the programme

Adamant: Interacting with her followers, Anne corrected herself on her social media 

Anne’s words come after people have been threatening to ‘boycott’ This Morning after seeing Holly and Phil dash down the side of the grand hall.

The monarch will be laid to rest at Westminster Abbey on Monday following her death two weeks ago, aged 96.

Members of the public have been queuing for up to 24 hours to see the Queen lying in state but the queue has now closed.

On Sunday, This Morning bosses denied show Holly and Phil had ‘VIP access’ and filed ‘past the Queen lying in state’ as they filmed a segment for the programme at Westminster Hall in London on Friday.

TV pals: Sticking up for her ITV colleagues, she penned: ‘My understanding is that Holly and Phil weren’t in a VIP line, they were in a press line and about to do a piece to camera’

Historical moment: They filmed a segment for the programme at Westminster Hall in London on Friday, with reports surfacing that they had cut queues 

The presenters cut sombre figures as they dressed in black and visited the Queen’s coffin to film for the upcoming episode which is due to air on Tuesday, the day after the funeral.

With reports the five-mile long queue had been closed for six hours on Friday, boosting the wait time to ‘at least 14 hours’, the TV duo were said to have joined a separate queue and were taken into a press gallery.

On Saturday evening, ITV bosses bosses posted a statement on Instagram which denied the pair had received special treatment: ‘Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something,’ it read. 

‘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.’

An ITV spokesperson added in a statement to MailOnline: ‘This Morning had press accreditation and like other media, Phillip and Holly were escorted to work from the press gallery by government staff. 

On air: Holly and Phil were said to have joined a separate queue and were taken into a press gallery (pictured on This Morning last Monday)

‘They did not file past The Queen’s coffin. They were there alongside a host of other broadcasters and national press outlets for an item that will be broadcast on Tuesday’s show. Any allegations of improper behaviour are categorically untrue.’

The broadcasters donned all black ensembles, with Holly, 41, in a face mask, as they made their way into the historic building where the late monarch was lying in state following her death last week. 

A source told MailOnline: ‘They did not get to pay their respects to the Queen in the same way as queuing members of the public but they filmed in a section put aside for press. 

‘This Morning’s Friday show has been cancelled in favour of rolling ITV news coverage in the lead-up to the Queen’s state funeral. The programme will be back on screens on Tuesday.’

Respects: Holly visited Buckingham Palace with her three children last weekend, after which she encouraged them to put their feelings down on paper 

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