Eamonn Holmes made a subtle dig at Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield amid the backlash over the mistaken belief they had jumped the queue to see the Queen lying in state.
On Friday, there was outrage when a photo appeared to show the This Morning hosts in a fast track line to pay their respects to the monarch in Westminster Abbey, which was increased by the fact celebs such as David Beckham queued for hours with members of the public.
However, yesterday This Morning issued a statement, which clarified that Holly, 41, and Philip, 60, were in the abbey to film a segment for the show to be aired tomorrow, and did not jump the queue.
Former This Morning host Eamonn, 62, has liked a tweet from Saturday, written before ITV's statement, which said, in reference to the backlash: "Does this mean we can have @EamonnHolmes and @RuthieeL back on @thismorning please?!" The tweet ended with a praying hands emoji.
In 2020, Ruth and Eamonn were cut from This Morning after hosting the show for 15 years.
They covered for Holly and Phil when they were away, but also hosted the Friday morning stint, too.
Eamonn went on to GB News, while Ruth continued to appear on another ITV audience puller, panel show Loose Women.
She also made a comeback on This Morning after nearly a year away, when she fronted the show with pal Rylan, which delighted viewers.
Eamonn revealed in an interview with the Mirror in June that he no longer watched This Morning as it would be "too sensitive".
He also said fans regularly approach him in the street to ask about why they aren't presenting the show still.
When asked about if he still tunes in, he said: "It would be too... sensitive. I mean, I spend every day going out on the street and people saying, ‘Why are you and Ruth not on any more?’"
This Morning was forced to step in and issue a statement, after there were calls for Holly and Phil, who have fronted the show since 2009, to quit, and vicious trolling.
The statement, which was released on the show's Instagram page, said: "Hello everyone, we would like to clarify something.
"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.”
A photo on Friday showed Holly and Philip in all black in a queue, as they, we now know, prepared to film a segment for This Morning.
The pair were seen on the BBC News live stream of Westminster Hall at around 10am.
