Why were ITV hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield at Queen's lying-in-state?

ITV presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were seen in Westminster Hall on Friday

As crowds solemnly filed past the Queen's coffin in Westminster Hall this week, eagle-eyed viewers spotted two famous faces.

Wearing dark clothes and sombre expressions, presenters Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby were seen at the lying-in-state in Parliament on Friday.

There was outrage from some who believed the hosts of ITV's This Morning programme had somehow managed to jump the queue on Friday, while others contrasted it with David Beckham queuing for hours.

This Morning said the pair were there just doing their job as broadcasters and were filming ahead for a piece to be aired after the funeral.

In a statement on Instagram, it said: "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 professional capacity as part of the world's media to report on the event."

So what do we know about what happened when the presenters visited this week?

A parliamentary source told the BBC the pair had been given media accreditation to cover the Queen's lying-in-state as journalists.

Reporters and photographers can apply for accreditation for the lying-in-state through Parliament's media centre. This is not just for those political journalists who already hold parliamentary passes to work in Westminster.

A UK Parliament spokesperson confirmed that they have given media accreditation to journalists who have requested access to Westminster Hall "for the purpose of reporting on the event for the millions of people in the UK and globally who haven't been able to visit Westminster in person".

Members of the public have been queuing for hours to see the Queen's flag-draped coffin

Accredited journalists and photographers are then allowed to take photographs and gather reporting material from specific positions in the hall for a set time period, under the guidance from the media centre.

During that time slot, they are escorted to the reporting position, which is on a raised platform on a scaffold at the back of the hall.

In order to get to that area, they stay on the edges of the hall and move quickly round the side of members of the public who are filing past the coffin.

In contrast, members of the public walk along a carpeted area on either side of the coffin and are given time to pause and pay their respects.

Looking at the footage of the presenters this appears to be what happened on Friday - with the two of them seen wearing lilac and grey lanyards with press passes attached to them.

A wide beige carpet has been temporarily laid along each side of the coffin

An ITV spokesperson told the BBC Schofield and Willoughby "were escorted to work from the press gallery".

"They did not file past the Queen's coffin. They were there alongside a host of other broadcasters and national press outlets for an item that will be broadcast on Tuesday's show," the spokesperson added.

"Any allegations of improper behaviour are categorically untrue."

MPs and foreign dignitaries have separately been able to bypass the queue and access Westminster Hall since its doors opened to the public on Wednesday. But they generally do so from a raised platform on the side of the hall. Former prime minister Theresa May chose to join the general queue so she could file past the coffin as the public did.

David Beckham was one of the familiar faces seen spending hours queuing. He described the experience of viewing the Queen's coffin as an emotional one.

He was not someone who could apply for media accreditation like members of the press.

Some journalists chose to join the queue when they were not working.

Susanna Reid, presenter on ITV's Good Morning Britain, was in the line for more than seven hours on Friday with her mum and her mum's friend to see the lying-in-state. She found the moment "at once majestic and peaceful".

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