Eamonn Holmes has taken a swipe at Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, who have come under fire for “skipping the queue” to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.
The This Morning presenters faced major backlash after they were spotted in a separate line to thousands of mourners who waited hours to view the late British monarch lying in state at Westminster Hall last Friday.
Twitter users slammed the pair for not waiting in the main queue like other celebrities, such as David Beckham and Susanna Reid.
Former This Morning presenter Eamonn has since weighed in on the drama, by liking a string of tweets from fans calling for the pair to be taken off air.
One tweet he liked read: “I always preferred Eamonn and Ruthie they should be sacked, Eamonn and Ruth are far better than them idiots.”
The 62-year-old replied to the tweet with three praying hands emojis.
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
— Eamonn Holmes OBE (@EamonnHolmes) September 21, 2022
Eamonn co-hosted the Friday edition of ITV’s This Morning for 15 years with his wife Ruth Langsford, before they were replaced by Dermot O’Leary and Alison Hammond last year.
The presenter has since landed a new job with GB News, co-hosting the channel’s breakfast show with Isabel Webster.
His comments come after Holly addressed the backlash against herself and Philip on Tuesday’s episode of This Morning.
She 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 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,” the 41-year-old explained.
“None of the broadcasters and journalists there took anyone’s place in the queue and no one filed passed 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.”
