ITV’s chief executive has said Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield’s jobs are safe and their alleged queue-jumping to see the Queen lying in state was misinformation spread by a “sharp minority”.
Carolyn McCall, who has texted both This Morning hosts to find the media fallout “difficult”, said she hoped the incident would end and they would not become the latest victims of “cancellation culture ·lation”.
“Sometimes minority stress can become very, very strong and picked up as a story,” he said, speaking at the Royal Television Society’s London conference. “I hope it happens. It shows you how things spread. How misinformation spreads and it’s so horrible for them. They haven’t been canceled have they. I think they’re very relevant and they’re still very current and the most of their viewers love to watch them. There is a very loud voice against it, it will hurt them. This is a social network, what is it?”
McCall said ITV called Domino’s Pizza, which tweeted that customers would have to wait for their deliveries as an order from Willoughby and Schofield had taken priority, expressing displeasure at the post being picked up widely on social networks.
Apologies to anyone waiting for their pizza, we’ve just received an order from Holly and Phil #ThisMorning
— Domino’s Pizza UK (@Dominos_UK) September 20, 2022
“We talked to them,” he said. “They thought it was really funny. We said ‘no’. We just said, what are you doing, we work with Domino’s right. They didn’t think about the impact it would have, how people would pick it up and start making memes.” .
On Sunday, ITV was forced to issue a statement backing the presenters and denying allegations that a woman in a wheelchair was moved aside to make way for presenters visiting Westminster Hall on September 16.
McCall, who when asked if their jobs were safe said “yes of course”, reiterated ITV’s position that the presenters legitimately entered Westminster Hall as part of a wider on the death of the monarch.
“They had accreditation. A lot of people say no,” he said. “They were sent by This Morning to do a piece for September 20 that ran. They interviewed people in and out. They didn’t move anyone in the queue. In fact, have been grossly misrepresented.”