Lorraine Kelly reveals her two worst celebrity interviews as she reflects on her career after ITV's brutal daytime TV cuts

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

Lorraine Kelly has revealed her favourite and least favourite celebrity interviews of all time as she reflected on her TV career on Monday.
During an appearance at the 2025 Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, Lorraine was interviewed about her 2024 novel The Island Swimmer before the floor was thrown to audience questions.
One fan asked the TV presenter, 65, her best and worse talk show guests prompting Lorraine to gush over George Clooney.
She replied: 'George Clooney is adorable. He just is. He's my favourite.'
She then went on to admit interviews with singers Mariah Carey and Lady Gaga have been among the worst.
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The ITV star said: 'The one that was difficult, not because she was horrible... but Mariah Carey was 'refreshed'. It's good we were [pre-recording] it because her first answer was 10 minutes long, and did not make any sense.
'But I always give people the benefit of the doubt.'
She then recalled an interview with Lady Gaga, in which Lorraine's production crew were left waiting 'for five or six hours' for an interview that never materialised.
She said: 'They kept saying "she's getting in the car, she's getting in the car", and of course my crew have all been up since God knows when... they need to go home to bed!'
Lorraine added: 'She never turned up; I don't know what happened there'.
During her four-decade career as a TV presenter, Lorraine has interviewed some of the world's most famous celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey, Elton John, and Hugh Jackman.
Lorraine is reportedly ready to take drastic measures following brutal cutbacks at ITV in a bid to save her long-running show.
The host, who has frequently let other presenters stand in for her, will now front her show five days a week after its running time was slashed from 60 to 30 minutes.
In addition, the programme, which previously ran year-round, will now also air for just half of the year.
And now a source has told The Mirror: 'Lorraine was not happy about what is happening and also had concern for the production team which will be cut back too.
'But the truth is she has to roll her sleeves up and work harder on her own show than she has in recent years, otherwise the long-term future does not look good.
'She needs to show bosses it is worth keeping on air. You can expect her to be pulling hard to get big name celebrities on her show instead of GMB or This Morning.'
ITV claims that it is slashing the budgets of its daytime TV shows in a bid to increase long-term profitability amid changes in viewer habits and a move towards streaming services.
The insider explained that while the Scottish host is a staple of daytime TV, changes have to be made in the current climate.
Lorraine will now be vying to get the biggest name celebrity guests on her couch so that she can compete with other major talk shows like This Morning and Good Morning Britain.
ITV has been contacted by MailOnline for comment.
The changes come amid a huge cull of roles at ITV, which will result in hundreds of job losses.
Now, anger is reportedly mounting behind the scenes after This Morning escaped the ITV cutbacks announced this month amid a schedule shake-up and overhaul at the channel.
ITV announced on May 20 that there would be dramatic changes to their daytime TV schedule, with Lorraine's show slashed from an hour to 30 minutes and, like Loose Women, will only air 30 weeks of the year.
Anchors Ruth Langsford and Kaye Adams, both 65, and presenters Nadia Sawalha, 60, and Denise Welch, 66, are believed to be 'angered' and 'panicked' about their livelihoods being at stake, causing uproar behind the scenes.
Top TV talents including Lorraine are believed to be 'furious' and 'insulted' over the shake-up while the Loose Women are already fearing inevitable job losses.
The new regime, set to come into effect in January, will cost a potential 300 staff members their jobs as a consultation period begins as soon as today, lasting until September, before employees are finally let go in December.
But now there is reportedly growing resentment that This Morning is going to be unaffected despite scandals in recent years including Phillip Schofield's affair with a much younger colleague.
A source told The Sun: 'There's a lot of rage towards This Morning, which everyone feels is constantly favoured despite it being the lame duck of the daytime flock.
'There's a feeling that Loose Women and Lorraine are delivering resilient, solid ratings while This Morning is always in the Press for its tumbling viewing figures. Loose Women is even winning awards.
'Never mind the Phillip Schofield scandal and then Holly Willoughby leaving, This Morning is like the black sheep and yet that's the show that is not facing any cuts.'
An ITV spokesman said: 'At a time when our daytime teams are undergoing a period of change we will not comment on speculation around talent or staff contracts.
'Our intention is to keep our daytime shows as familiar to viewers as possible which includes seeing presenters they know and love.'