ITV axes beloved breakfast show segment in new cost-cutting measures

Daily Record

4 days ago

ITV has been forced to make more major cuts in an attempt to manage costs and it is bad news for some huge breakfast stars.
ITV's Andi Peters and Jeff Brazier will reportedly no longer be sent on lavish holidays abroad as the broadcaster have been forced to cut all their expenses-paid trips. Over the past year, the duo have been whisked off to a number of sun-soaked locations to front ITV competitions, appearing on programmes such as Good Morning Britain, Loose Women, This Morning and Lorraine.
Andi's enviable locations have included the Maldives, Australia, Cape Town, and Florida while Jeff has been sent to Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malta. However, channel executives believe it's in "bad taste" to continue flying presenters to exotic destinations after announcing hundreds of devastating redundancies across ITV as part of their cost-saving measures.
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An insider told MailOnline: "ITV have scaled back on sending top talent overseas to present their competition segments. The competitions themselves, which give viewers the chance to win six figure sums and idyllic holidays, bring in a great deal of revenue, but constantly flying the likes of Andi and Jeff to the Maldives and South Africa was starting to frustrate staff and viewers alike."
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The source continued: "It was decided that they would dial down for a few weeks after the budget cuts were announced and no one has flown overseas to present the competitions since.
"As well as there being a backlash online from disgruntled viewers, it was felt continuing to send talent abroad to luxurious holiday destinations as others are losing their jobs would be in bad taste."
ITV's budget cuts were first announced last month, with a number of popular programmes taking a huge hit as the broadcaster battles a mounting financial crisis, the Express reports.
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The Lorraine Show will lose its long-standing hour-long slot from January 2026 , and will now air for just 30 minutes from 9:30am until 10am.
The show, presented by Lorraine Kelly, has seen its airtime been slashed in half and the talk show has also been restricted to being broadcast just 30 weeks of the year.
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Fears have been circulating that the Scots presenter may quit her show, which has been running since 2010, as a result of the cuts.
Lorraine received the news after returning to work following a surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes last year.
The surgery was described as "preventative" and performed via keyhole surgery.
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As part of the shake-up, Good Morning Britain will have its current 6am to 9am slot extended until 9:30am.
During the 22 weeks of the year that Lorraine will now be off-air, Good Morning Britain's airtime has been extended until 10am, adding an extra hour to its original schedule.
Meanwhile, This Morning will still air from 10:30am to 12:30pm but another show which is being scaled back is Loose Women.
The popular ITV daytime programme will now also air on a seasonal basis for just 30 weeks a year.
According to MailOnline, Loose Women is set to scrap their live audience due to the ongoing budget cuts.