Kim Woodburn says ‘high and mighty’ Holly Willoughby and Phil Schofield should be sacked
Kim Woodburn has said ‘high and mighty’ Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield should be sacked from This Morning in the wake of queue-gate last year.
The two presenters came under fire after they were accused of skipping the queue to see the Queen lying in state in September, later defending what happened by saying they were there in a professional capacity as journalists.
But Woodburn, 80, believes the pair should be fired from the show, arguing that they ‘sneaked in’, despite their claims.
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Speaking on the Not My Bagg podcast, Woodburn told hosts Joe and George: "They were not, were not asked to cover the Queen's funeral.
"They sneaked in and they put these press things they got, they sneaked in because they wouldn't stand in a queue, they are far too high and mighty. It is true.
"Don't listen to another word they say.
"They were not contracted, they were not allowed to film, nobody was, so they did sneak in.
"They should have lost their job."
Woodburn has previously called out the This Morning stars, saying she felt ‘appalled’ by their actions.
"Their self-serving publicity stunt came back to bite them on the bum, didn't it?” Woodburn said during an interview on GB News at the time of the backlash.
"They would have been seen passing the Queen's coffin and they would have been seen on This Morning saying they'd been queuing for hours - I am sorry but I do believe that.
"I am appalled by them really because there were many people on television who were queuing, and if I had been there I would have queued as well."
Willoughby and Schofield have also addressed what happened, with the latter issuing a joint statement on the show, arguing that they would ‘never jump a queue'.
"Like hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists we were given official permission to access the hall,” she said.
"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.”
She explained that none of the broadcasters or journalists ‘took anyone's places in the queue and no one filed past the Queen’.
"We of course respected those rules however we realised that it may have looked like something else and therefore we totally understand the reaction,” Willoughby added.
"Please know that we would never jump a queue."
Topics: Celebrity, Holly Willoughby, Phillip Schofield, This Morning
Jess Hardiman