Phillip Schofield has hit back after he and Holly Willoughby had a selfie taken with Boris Johnson.
The presenter and his co-host on ITV’s This Morning, were criticised for sharing a photo with the Prime Minister after he appeared for an interview on Thursday.
Some accused the pair of being “chummy” with Mr Johnson and said that Jeremy Corbyn, who appeared on the show earlier this week, had been given a tougher treatment.
Can I point out that if Mr Corbyn had asked for a selfie, we would have happily obliged.
— Phillip Schofield (@Schofe) December 5, 2019
But Schofield responded on Twitter saying: “Can I point out that if Mr Corbyn had asked for a selfie, we would have happily obliged.”
Responding to fans who asked whether he had challenged Mr Johnson over comments which some claim are Islamophobic, he replied: “YES!!”
Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said it had received 31 complaints about the interview as of Thursday afternoon.
Following the interview, the pair claimed Mr Johnson had appeared not to know how to take the picture with his phone.
Thank you to Phillip and Holly at @thismorning – a good opportunity to talk more about our exciting vision for the country #GetBrexitDone pic.twitter.com/IoFuW1mscO
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 5, 2019
Willoughby remarked: “He whipped his phone out and he took a selfie.”
Schofield said: “But he didn’t know he had to press the button…”
Willoughby added: “It was one of the funniest things. Amazing. Things you don’t expect to happen…”
During his appearance on the day-time TV show, the Prime Minister also said he fancied his chances on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here’s stomach-churning eating challenges.
This series has seen the current batch of celebrities sample pigs anus, crocodile penis and lamb testicles.
Willoughby suggested Mr Johnson could follow in his father’s footsteps and appear on the ITV show, in which famous faces are cast away to a remote jungle campsite in Australia.
The politician’s father Stanley appeared on I’m A Celebrity in 2017, finishing seventh.
As the This Morning interview concluded and Willoughby was doing a link to the next segment, she quipped: “The race to be prime minister isn’t the only important voting happening right now.”
Schofield said: “Who will be king or queen of the jungle?” and then in a nod to the Prime Minister added: “There’s always that if it goes wrong…”
Willoughby said: “Following in your father’s footsteps…”
Mr Johnson replied: “He did brilliantly. I think I could certainly do the eating the funny stuff. But he was absolute amazing.”
He added: “All the animals and everything. I take my hat off to him.”