Thousands of ITV This Morning fans sign petition to 'axe' Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield amid queue backlash

Thousands of This Morning fans have signed a petition to see Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield 'axed' from the programme as they continue to face backlash over accusations they 'jumped the queue' to see the Queen lie in state.

Prior to her funeral on Monday, September 19, Queen Elizabeth II spent four days lying in state at Westminster Hall. Hundreds of thousands of people queued for up to 14 hours to pay their final respects to the late monarch following her death, aged 96, at Balmoral on September 8.

It came after her coffin spent a brief period lying in state at St Giles' Cathedral in Scotland following her death at her Scottish Highlands home. She then made the journey from Edinburgh to London where she was received privately at Buckingham Palace by her family before one last night at 'the office', as she reportedly called the iconic landmark.

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On Monday morning, ahead of the Queen's state funeral, the last mourners paid their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall before the was taken to Westminster Abbey in procession with her children and grandchildren behind her.

However, an outpouring of outrage ensued after Holly, 41, and Phillip, 60, were accused of 'jumping the queue' when they were spotted in Westminster Hall on Friday. This Morning has since hit back at the claims.

A statement on the programme’s Instagram account said: “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