Petition to axe Holly and Phil from This Morning passes 55,000 signatures

A petition calling for Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield to be axed from This Morning has now surpassed 55,000 signatures.

Holly and Phil were spotted filing into Westminster Hall on Friday last week as tens of thousands of mourners queued through the night to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth.

Yet while most people stood in the now-famous queue for as long as fifteen hours – football star David Beckham reportedly waited in the line for thirteen hours – the hosts seemingly skipped the entire queue. 

The pair were immediately met with a wave of backlash online, with ITV bosses hastily insisting they were there as ‘credited members of the press’, and therefore had not pushed in the queue. 

Holly and Phil themselves also addressed the backlash during Tuesday’s episode, saying while they both ‘understand the reaction’, they would ‘never jump a queue’.

They added that they had been given ‘official permission to access the hall’ like ‘hundreds of accredited broadcasters and journalists.’

Despite their explanation, however, a petition calling for their removal from This Morning – and the cancellation of the show altogether – continued to gain traction, with it today surpassing 50,000 signatures.

The petition, labelled ‘Axe Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby from TV’, explains: “Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield, two hosts of one of the most damaging to mental health day time tv show This Morning, were able to push past those thousands and get immediate access.

“ITV should be ashamed of exploiting the situation. I’d like to see This Morning axed for good as I do believe it causes more harm than good, without people noticing. For example, like turning cost of living anxiety into a game show.

“At the least though, these toxic presenters Holly and Philip should finally be removed from our TV screens. They monopolised way too long.”

At the time of writing, the petition has 56,249 signatures, though this number is rising rapidly by the hour.

Sources close to Holly have told The Mirror that she has no intention of stepping aside from a job she loves, with her and Phil choosing to instead ‘weather the storm’. 

They said: “The abuse has been nothing short of disgusting, not least as they have done nothing wrong and were fully entitled to media accreditation so they could inform their viewers.

“There is huge, real and serious concerns over their wellbeing and ITV are fully supporting them behind the scenes in the face of such relentless trolling.

“The channel backs them 110%.”

They added: “She [Holly] adores her job and would never quit. The whole experience has been totally brutal but one thing has remained constant, and that’s been ITV’s unwavering support.”