Ant and Dec take a swipe at Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield as they revisit 'queue-gate' scandal that sent This Morning hosts' careers into turmoil

Ant and Dec took a surprise swipe at Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield as they reminisced about the 'queue-gate' scandal that nearly ended the pair's careers. 

In 2022, the This Morning hosts were accused of 'skipping' the 13-hour queue to see The Queen lying in state, while they argued they were at Westminster Hall to file a report for ITV. 

Such was the outrage at the pair, that within days more than 50,000 people signed a petition to have them fired from the show, and the scandal continued to engulf them until the following year when it was overshadowed by the revelation of Phillip's affair with a younger colleague and his resignation from ITV. 

Holly, 45, has worked hard to distance herself from the scandal, so was no doubt less than impressed to hear Ant and Dec referencing the drama in the latest episode of their podcast, Hanging Out.  

The Geordie duo were discussing their desire to see the Bayeux Tapestry, which has attracted a flood of visitors since being displayed in the UK, when Ant McPartlin quipped: 'If anyone from the British Museum is watching this podcast in their downtime… I'd like to jump the queue.'

Appearing to take aim at Holly and Phillip, Declan Donnelly responded: 'I'm not sure about TV presenters skipping queues. I don't think that's going to end well!' 

Ant and Dec took a surprise swipe at Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on their Hanging Out podcast as they reminisced about the 'queue-gate' scandal 

In 2022, the This Morning hosts were accused of 'skipping' the 13-hour queue to see The Queen lying in state, while they argued they were at Westminster Hall to file a report for ITV

Ant continued: 'What could possibly go wrong? It's just scuttle down the side, pop in the front.'

To which Dec added sarcastically: 'Do you think that's the end? Nobody's gonna say anything about it.'

Holly and Phil spent months desperately trying to distance themselves from the 'queue-gate' scandal after footage of them seeing the Queen lying in state first came out on September 16, 2022. 

The presenting duo faced fury after images of them appearing to 'skip the queue' emerged – but they argued their visit was 'strictly for reporting'.

There was backlash on the day, with Joe Tomkins, a builder from Nottingham, saying he was outraged to reach the end of the queue only to find the broadcaster waltz past mourners.

Joe, who had been standing in line for 14 hours in frigid temperatures overnight, told The Sun: 'They walked straight past us all and a few people started shouting.

'People were saying, "Oi, Phil, Holly, get to the back of the queue!". Phil looked around and smiled as if to say, "We can do what we want."

'It angered a lot of people. People were saying, "How can they do this?" There was a real hatred for them, it wasn't right.

'People were tired, frustrated, some were crying, we all had to keep each other going, it was a graft. So to see those two sail past without a care in the world really angered us.'

A spokesperson for ITV disputed the claims, saying: 'This account is not a fair and accurate representation of what happened or of the timings of that day.

'Phillip and Holly did not file past the Queen's coffin. They were alongside a host of other broadcasters to cover the death of the Queen.'

Meanwhile, a source from This Morning told the paper: 'Phil and Holly actually stopped afterwards for selfies with many of the polite fans who asked. There was no ill will.'

Yet since it emerged the pair had not queued up with other mourners there was a clamour for them to lose their jobs, with a petition calling for them to be fired reaching more than 50,000 signatures.

The duo were discussing their desire to see the Bayeux Tapestry, which has attracted a flood of visitors since being displayed in the UK, and joked about skipping the queue (pictured)

Such was the backlash to the pair that TV insiders raised 'serious concerns' about the presenters' wellbeing after they appeared tearful and muted on This Morning in the aftermath. 

A statement was issued by ITV and later broadcast on This Morning, which was voiced over by Holly, but both stopped short of using the word 'sorry' – a move which left many viewers furious.

A source told the Daily Mail at the time: 'Every word of the statement was pored over. In the end, it's spectacularly backfired. 

'Initially Holly and Phillip were prepared to say sorry if they'd upset anyone as they both just desperately want to draw a line under the affair. But they were advised strongly not to go down that road of saying sorry.'

In the first episode of the show since the row unfolded, Holly and Phil strongly denied viewers' claims they were 'too posh to queue' and said they had been in Westminster Hall on Friday 'strictly for the purpose of reporting on the event'.

The voiceover also hammered home the point, 'Please know that we would never jump a queue.'

Holly was said to have been hit particularly hard by online backlash and felt they had been 'left out to dry', sources previously said.

However, eight months after the incident Holly's involvement in queue-gate was overshadowed by her co-host Phillip admitting to an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a younger, male colleague. 

The scandal created a state of disarray for This Morning, with it triggering ongoing allegations of a toxic culture behind the scenes, and Phillip ultimately resigning from ITV. 

Holly clung on for a few more months but also resigned that year after it emerged she had been the intended victim of a kidnap and murder plot. 

She now hosts her own YouTube series, Together, which has been panned by critics.