Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield booed on NTAs stage as This Morning named Best Daytime Show

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield were met with faint boos as they appeared on stage at the National Television Awards.

The presenting duo attended the awards show on Thursday (13 October), whereThis Morning was named Best Daytime Show.

An emotional Schofield told the audience: “Please don’t ever feel like we get complacent and please don’t think we ever take this for granted. This means so much to us every year, especially this year.”

Willoughby added: “Thank you so much for everything. You make our show for us, you really do.”

However, during their speech, murmured boos could be heard from the audience among the cheers.

An ITV source told The Independent: “This is an award voted for by viewers which makes it extra special. The whole team were delighted to receive their 12th consecutive gong at the NTAs and the cheers they received on winning!

“The reception on the red carpet from fans, in the auditorium and in the media room was positive and it was a great night for everyone.”

Willoughby and Schofield found themselves at the centre of much public controversy in recent months, after they were accused of “jumping the queue” to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin lying in state.

ITV bosses defended the presenters, stating that they had visited the site as accredited members of the media.

Willoughby and Schofield also denied the accusations on This Morning, saying that they would “never jump a queue”.

“We of course respected those rules, however we realise it may have looked like something else and therefore totally understand the reaction,” Willoughby said.

Nonetheless, more than 78,000 people went on to sign a petition calling on ITV to “axe” the presenters over the queue-jumping accusations.

The petition creator later admitted that the whole petition was “kind of destroying” them.

ITV’s chief executive said that the pair had been “misrepresented” during the scandal, which was joked about on Have I Got News For You, adding that Willoughby and Schofield were at no risk of losing their jobs.

Elsewhere during the National Television Awards, Ant and Dec took home the gong for Best Presenter for the 21st consecutive year – much to viewers’ annoyance.

You can find the full winners list here.