This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have been warned by an expert following their ‘queuegate’ scandal.
Last September, the presenting duo faced much backlash online when they visited the Queen’s Lying-In-State.
They visited as part of the media, meaning they didn’t have to queue for hours like members of the public to see Her Majesty’s coffin at Westminster Hall.
Holly and Phillip on This Morning
This sparked outrage online, with a petition even calling for them to be fired from This Morning for ‘queue-jumping’.
Mixing the presenters up during the week might see things change for the better.
Following the criticism, Holly and Phil spoke out during a segment on the daytime show and insisted they didn’t ‘jump the queue’.
Holly told viewers at the time: “We of course respected those rules. However we realise that it may have looked like something else. Therefore we totally understand the reaction. Please know that we would never jump the queue.”
Since the backlash, a PR expert has said many viewers won’t feel the same way about Holly and Phil.
Natalie Yorke, PR Director + Expert exclusively told Entertainment Daily!: “I’d say that there has definitely been a shift in how viewers feel about them since the Queuegate scandal.
“At a time when over 200,000 people went to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II, as she lay-in-state at Westminster Hall, following her death in September 2022 – I think many were upset and disappointed to see that they had allegedly jumped the queue and I believe the fact that 80,000 people signed a petition to axe them from This Morning showed just how much the tide had turned.”
This Morning presenters
She went on: “Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary’s popularity has certainly soared since then, with viewers loving their fresh, fun and down to earth vibe.
“And many looking forward to seeing them every Friday morning.”
Natalie then warned: “While some viewers have probably forgotten Queuegate, there are quite a few that probably don’t feel as strongly as they once did about Holly and Phil, and perhaps feel like they’re not as relatable as they were before.”
Offering some advice to the daytime show, Natalie added: “Mixing the presenters up during the week might see things change for the better.
“And even an increase in viewership for This Morning…
“…as it’s clear from comments on social media that things are getting a bit repetitive and there are likely other presenters that they’d rather see on their screens a little more often.
Read more: Dancing On Ice star lashes out at Phillip Schofield’s behaviour on This Morning
“It would essentially boost the show and give it a fresher feel.”
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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