Graham Norton revealed he was offered a “queue-jump ticket” by a friend as a politician to see the Queen lying-in-state in Westminster Abbey.
The chat show host, 59, claimed he was offered special treatment following the Queen’s passing during an interview with Nihal Arthanayke’s BBC Radio 5 Live programme on Monday (September 26).
Despite the kind offer, the TV presenter decided to turn down the generous offer in order to save himself from getting it “in the neck” from critics online.
READ MORE: ITV's Holly Willoughby praised by fans as she returns to Instagram with glam snap
It comes after This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby, 41, and Phillip Schofield, 60, allegedly “skipped the queue” to see the Queen’s coffin as they filmed a segment on the ITV show at Westminster Hall in London earlier this month.
The pair soon faced a wave of backlash on social media for their distasteful piece, but Graham was quick to stand up for the TV duo during his latest interview with the radio host.
He told Nihal: “Phil and Holly… The queue. So, as far as I'm concerned, they did nothing wrong. There was a two-tier system. You could queue jump!
“Now I got offered a queue jump ticket by a friend of mine – he's an MP and he said, ‘Do you want to come?’
“I didn’t say yes – because I thought if anybody sees me I'll get it in the neck’.”
It was at this point that Nihal suggested the pair were caught out because of: “Optics” as Graham agreed: “Yes and that was what I thought. So I suppose what Phil and Holly got wrong was they thought people wouldn’t care.
“I guess that that’s their crime. The actual queue jumping? They did nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing wrong. But foolish of them to not think that people would be annoyed.”
It comes after sources reveal ITV bosses are concerned for Holly and Phil will be booed when they attend the National Television Awards ceremony next month after the explosive scandal.
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The broadcasters have received a wave of online abuse after a petition for the duo to be fired from their lucrative presenting roles hit more than 74,000 signatures in less than eight days.
And television executives are thought to be worried about what sort of reception the TV stars will receive during the star-studded ceremony which has been pushed back to October 13 from September 15 following Her Royal Highness’ passing.
A source told The Sun: “They could be booed walking down the red carpet or even on stage. It’s a major concern.”
Daily Star has contacted ITV and representatives for Holly and Phil for a comment.
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