The This Morning presenters became national villains after they were accused of avoiding an eight-hour queue to see the Queen lying in state by entering Westminster Hall through a side entrance. A petition to have them removed from the ITV show now has more than 55,000 signatures, while their memes continue on social media and tabloid front pages. Domino’s Pizza tweeted: “Sorry to anyone waiting for their pizza, we’ve just received an order from Holly and Phil,” and the London Dungeon said it will allow any guest who asks for a “Holly & Phil” at the door to win royalties queue for the same price as a standard ticket. Schofield and Willougby’s defense was simple: their visit to Westminster Hall was “strictly for reporting” and they respected the rules set for the media. But for many of their viewers the damage was already done. “I think the problem arose from the fact that they did not make it clear before visiting the Queen in repose that they were there ‘working’ and so it became very difficult after the event to justify what was seen as ‘queue jumping’.” said Simon Wadsworth, CEO of reputation management company Igniyte. “Since it was widely known that some people had been queuing for hours, even overnight, it was somewhat insensitive, but probably a genuine oversight.” What the public may not have known is that hundreds of journalists took the opportunity to spend half an hour watching the public pass by the monarch’s coffin. They arrived in small groups before being led to a platform in Westminster Hall where they could think through the processes to inform their report. Cell phones were not allowed, but they were allowed to bring pen and paper into the room. Schofield and Willoughby were accompanied on their visit by a team that included Martin Frizell, the editor of This Morning, although an ITV spokesman said they did not enter Westminster Hall. Three issues seem to have combined to create this mini-scandal around a queue. First, it appears that Schofield and Willoughby were ushered to a different area of ​​the room than other reporters – which had the effect of allowing them to be caught on camera. Second, footage was shared on Instagram and TikTok ahead of the intended broadcast on This Morning – prompting viewers to believe they had skipped the public queue. Thirdly, the This Morning audience seems to be particularly ill-willed towards the couple and in relation to any breaches of royal etiquette – especially when fellow ITV presenter Susanna Reid chose to queue with the audience. So what can crisis and reputation management gurus like Wadsworth, whose firm’s client list includes a Knight of the Realm, a film producer and a former Bond girl, advise? “Their statement seemed to lack empathy,” Wadsworth said. “I would recommend a quick response along the lines of: ‘While they were following the instructions, they appreciated how it might be perceived and apologized for the impact it had’ – show some remorse to get the audience to warm to their situation.” For PR Week editor John Harrington, who has seen his share of crises, this is especially absurd. “Given the number of crises in the world at the moment, it is logically ridiculous that allegations of queue jumping by two broadcasters have generated so much bad headlines and obviously so much anger,” he said. Harrington said the reason for the backlash was the same as for Boris Johnson’s lockdown parties: a sense of injustice, of “one rule for them, another rule for the rest of us”. “Everyone was waiting in a line, as everyone had to isolate during the lockdown,” he said, adding that it was unfortunate the scandal came so soon after the “wheel of fortune” contest offered to pay people’s energy bills. A message from This Morning about Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby Both Harrington and Wadsworth agreed that in the long run, presenters could help rebuild their reputations by talking about good work they’ve done. “Usually we would help the client create positive new stories to counter the negative ones, perhaps focusing on the work they do for charity or in the community to gain some goodwill from those who feel they have been let down.”