Brutal digs hidden in UK’s live TV Queen’s funeral coverage

Britain’s TV presenters can’t seem to resist sly digs about one controversial topic as they present the latest updates on the Queen’s funeral.

Britain’s TV presenters can’t seem to resist a few sly digs about a recent controversy as they present updates on the Queen’s funeral today.

On Friday, popular British morning TV hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby caused a stir after they were seen on camera near the Queen’s coffin inside Westminster Hall, despite not having lined up in the mammoth queue outside.

Stream the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II live on Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try one month free. Offer ends October 31, 2022 >

Footage of Phillip Schofield (right) and Holly Willoughby (left) inside Westminster Hall caused controversy.

The sighting comes as thousands of others – among them David Beckham – braved the cold conditions and lining up for as long as 24 hours to pay their respects to the Queen.

As the brekkie TV duo copped a backlash, a few of their TV rivals took the opportunity to make a few on-air digs at their expense.

On GB News, a presenter told viewers to stick around because they’d be interviewing a guest “of not insignificant age” who had “suffered that queue”.

The SHADE from Eamonn. pic.twitter.com/R7RIJV8bFd

— Neil Wilkes (@neothecat) September 19, 2022

“What, Holly and Phillip? Are we talking to them?” asked co-host Eamonn Holmes, feigning ignorance.

“No, no, this is not a queue jumper – this is somebody who paid their dues,” said his fellow presenter, as the other guests on the panel reacted with shocked laughter.

”Holly and Phillip?” “No, this is not a queue jumper.”

Over on the BBC, newsreader Huw Edwards gave a pointed update about the queue.

“Quite a few familiar faces in the queue … we did of course see a certain David Beckham there on Friday; he was widely praised for having queued for hours and hours. Not jumping the queue because he’s a superstar VIP, no. He was in the queue for many hours, and good for him.”

I very much enjoyed Huw Edwards’s not so subtle dig on national news about VIP queue-jumpers. Now, who could he be talking about? x pic.twitter.com/uJqgE1Touj

— Steven Bonaventure x (@absolutegazelle) September 19, 2022

Even one of Schofield’s ex-colleagues got in on the act. TV presenter Fern Britton, who co-hosted This Morning with him for three years, cheekily tweeted: “There’s a VIP line?”

There’s a VIP line?

— Fern Britton 💙 (@Fern_Britton) September 16, 2022

Amid the controversy, Schofield and Willoughby’s program This Morning released a statement defending the hosting duo, and denying that they skipped the queue.

“Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something.

“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,” the statement read.

In a further statement to MailOnline, This Morning’s broadcaster ITV explained that the duo had proper press accreditation to be inside Westminster Hall and did not file past the Queen’s coffin.

David Beckham (centre) lined up with the general public for many hours to pay his respects to the Queen.

“This Morning had press accreditation and like other media, Phillip and Holly were escorted to work from the press gallery by government staff,” an ITV spokesperson said.

“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 controversy comes as the act of paying respects to the Queen quickly turned into an endurance test for the thousands of Brits who lined up, with mourners facing a kilometres-long, constantly moving queue for the chance to file past the monarch’s coffin for just a few seconds.