Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were ‘heckled for skipping queue to see Queen’s coffin’
A BUILDER who waited 14 hours to see the Queen’s coffin claims Phillip Schofield was heckled for skipping the queue.
Joe Tomkins, 41, watched Phil, 60, and This Morning co-host Holly Willoughby, 41, sail past thousands of mourners waiting in line at Westminster Hall.
Joe, from Nottingham, told The Sun: “We were in the zig-zag line right at the end of the queue when we saw Phil and Holly.
“They walked straight past us all and a few people started shouting.
“People were saying, ‘Oi, Phil, Holly, get to the back of the queue!’. Phil looked around and smiled as if to say, ‘We can do what we want’.
“It angered a lot of people. People were saying, ‘How can they do this?’ There was a real hatred for them, it wasn’t right.”
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Joe travelled to London by himself on Thursday night, arriving in the queue at 1am on Friday.
He said: “We had queued for 14 hours right next to the Thames in freezing temperatures.
“People were tired, frustrated, some were crying, we all had to keep each other going, it was a graft. So to see those two sail past without a care in the world really angered us.”
Joe said he made several friends in the queue and there was a huge sense of camaraderie.
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He went on: “We were all getting on great and looking out for one another. One old man in his 70s was really struggling.
“At about 5am he said, ‘Goodbye, I’m off, I can’t take this any more’.
“I said, ‘You’re not going anywhere,’ and we huddled round to support him and keep him warm.
“If we were all in it, we were all in it together. So when we saw Phil and Holly jump the queue, everyone was going crazy.”
Joe said he was “choked up” when he finally got to pay his respects to the Queen that day.
He said former England captain David Beckham, 47, could have easily used his celebrity status to queue jump but instead lined up with everyone else for 13 hours.
Joe said: “What an absolute superstar Beckham is.
“David did the right thing. Phil and Holly did the wrong thing.”
On Tuesday’s show the two hosts addressed claims they were “too posh to queue” but stopped short of an apology.
Holly said: “It was strictly for reporting on the event for millions not able to visit in person.”
Last night an online petition for This Morning to axe them topped 50,000 signatures.
ITV said last night: “This account is not a fair and accurate representation of what happened or of the timings of that day.
“Phillip and Holly did not file past the Queen’s coffin.
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“They were alongside a host of other broadcasters to cover the death of the Queen.”
Last night a show source said: “Phil and Holly actually stopped afterwards for selfies with many of the polite fans who asked. There was no ill will.”