Holly Willoughby has reportedly been leaning on Alison Hammond for support amid allegations she “skipped the queue” for the Queen‘s lying in state.
The incident occurred last Friday, when Holly and fellow This Morning host Phillip Schofield appeared to bypass the 14-hour queue of mourners at Westminster Hall.
Holly and Phil have vehemently denied these claims. The hosts have stated that they were given permission to access the hall as media representatives for ITV.
Despite this, the backlash has been brutal, with a petition calling to have the duo fired racking up 50,000 signatures.
However, amid the online abuse, the pair have reportedly been receiving support from Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary.
A source has claimed that the four have been “in regular touch” all week.
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield respond to queue drama
Presenters Holly and Phil have stayed silent on the matter aside from issuing a statement on Tuesday’s show. The pair continued to defend themselves, insisting they “did not skip the queue”.
ITV and the team behind This Morning have echoed their support for the presenters. They are said to be taking steps to ensure Phil and Holly get all the support they need.
When things started to blow up over the weekend they were in touch straight away. Alison, in particular, has spoken many times with Holly over the phone and been a real rock.
A source claimed: “ITV has a duty of care to look after all of its presenters and some of the abuse that Phil and Holly have received on social media is absolutely horrendous.
“People have gone way too far in some of the things they are saying and senior management have kept in regular touch with Phil and Holly to check they are okay. That will carry on until next week when they return to the programme.”
Alison and Dermot remain loyal
Sources close to the presenters have confirmed that Alison and Dermot have remained loyal to their co-hosts.
Regardless of ITV’s insistence that they will not be making any changes to the presenter line-up, online speculation has cropped up over the last week regarding which duo would be most likely to score the coveted gig.
Dermot and Alison have both been brought up as favourites. However, a source has assured that this hasn’t resulted in any tension between the stars.
They claimed: “Holly Willoughby, Alison Hammond, Dermot O’Leary and Philip Schofield are incredibly close and tight-knit. When things started to blow up over the weekend they were in touch straight away. Alison, in particular, has spoken many times with Holly over the phone and been a real rock.”
Read more: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were ‘heckled’ by mourners waiting in lying in state queue
This Morning airs on weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITV Hub.
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