Latest news with #LorraineKelly
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
ITV presenters' futures unclear amid channel budget cuts
ITV is shortening Lorraine Kelly 's show by half and reallocating those 30 minutes to Good Morning Britain as part of a cost-cutting drive, starting January 2026. Lorraine Kelly's breakfast programme will air from 9.30am until 10am for 30 weeks instead of its usual 9-10am slot, while Good Morning Britain will run from 6am until 9.30am instead of 6am to 9am. Loose Women panellist Nadia Sawalha expressed fear for her job, noting that Loose Women stars are self-employed and on new contracts each time. Sawalha also highlighted that hundreds of behind-the-scenes staff at ITV are facing redundancy, causing shock and fear among her friends and colleagues who have worked there for decades. Lorraine Kelly reportedly rejected an initial proposal to merge her show with Good Morning Britain, leading to the reshuffle weeks later, and she may leave when her year-long contract ends.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lorraine Kelly ‘left insulted' by GMB offer ahead of major presenting shakeup
Lorraine Kelly was 'left insulted' by an offer made by ITV in relation to her daytime series Lorraine. Last week, it was revealed that the channel is shortening Kelly's show by half and will reallocate those 30 minutes to Good Morning Britain instead, as part of a cost-cutting drive. From January 2026, Kelly's breakfast programme, which she has hosted for the past 15 years, will air from 9.30am until 10am for 30 weeks – instead of filling its usual 9-10am slot. Meanwhile, Good Morning Britain will run from 6am until 9.30am instead of 6am to 9am. It's now been claimed that Kelly, who appeared at Hay Festival earlier this week, was originally told that ITV wanted to merge her show with GMB – an idea that she reportedly rejected. According to MailOnline, the host 'was pulled into a meeting with bosses where she was told about Good Morning Britain'. 'It was proposed that her show would merge with GMB so that she presented the last 30 minutes of the broadcast, which is what happened when a reduced team were working during lockdown.' It's claimed Kelly 'told them no and said it wasn't even a possibility'. The reshuffle was made weeks later. A source told the outlet: 'The entire thing has been an insult and she's certain to leave when the year-long contract ends.' Kelly's programme will only run seasonally, with Good Morning Britain entirely taking over her original slot for the remaining 22 weeks of the year. The TV host will present her programme five days a week, with her Friday stand-ins Ranvir Singh and Christine Lampard no longer needed. This Morning and Loose Women will be unaffected by the scheduling changes and remain in their usual respective time slots. A source close to ITV told MailOnline: 'We were very open about the challenges in the industry and so several options were discussed – the key was ensuring Lorraine was retained and was as comfortable as possible in a changing landscape. 'Her show is still hugely valued – the show recently had its highest audience share in four years and still reaches 2.7 million people. Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV's Media and Entertainment Division, said: 'Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust as well generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres. 'These changes also allow us to consolidate our news operations and expand our national, international and regional news output and to build upon our proud history of trusted journalism at a time when our viewers need accurate, unbiased news coverage more than ever.' It comes after ITV announced earlier this year that it would be minimising its soap schedule to try to reduce costs on Coronation Street and Emmerdale. From January 2026, the two much-loved dramas will air as half an hour episodes in a so-called soap 'power hour' from Monday to Friday each week. RedBird IMI and Banijay have reportedly approached the broadcaster with offers for its ITV Studios production arm, which makes programmes including the reality dating show Love Island, talent competition The Voice, and Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals, among others. Andrew Cosslett, ITV chairman, said at the broadcaster's AGM last week, per The Sun: 'If someone approaches the company with an offer to talk, that's something we have to take seriously because we're representing your interests. 'And it's very clear from the room that there is a high level of interest in the share price and the value of the business. So we have to accommodate any requests and conversations that take place. 'But our current strategy is very clear and it's making the best of what we have in combination.' The Independent has contacted Kelly and ITV for comment.
The Courier
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Courier
MARTEL MAXWELL: Lorraine Kelly doesn't deserve sexism, ageism or show cut
It is the evening of October 1, 2014 and I am in a room in London surrounded by famous faces. Champagne flows, canapés whiz by on silver trays and everyone is saying a version of the same thing. 'What an achievement. Three decades on morning TV. Incredible. Has anyone ever done it?' The party is being thrown by ITV for Lorraine Kelly – to mark the milestone. From joining the TV-AM team in the 80s as Scottish correspondent, to co-presenting the channel's flagship programme with tartan blazer, shoulder pads, and chunky earrings. The Green Goddess came, Mr Motivator went through the revolving studio doors and Lorraine Kelly stayed. In the years that passed, she achieved the impossible in the notoriously fickle world of the media – she survived. Show cancellations, culls, new editors, scandals – she worked through it all and 15 years ago was given her own show, Lorraine. Fast forward a little over a decade to now. Lorraine was recovering from preventative keyhole surgery and after some rest on doctor's orders, she headed to work. There, she was told her show was being halved in time from an hour to half an hour; instead of running through the year, would have 30 weeks of air time; and most of the crew would lose their jobs. That was only the start. With notable exceptions, press coverage was horrific – and comments excruciating. There was sexism, ageism, Scottish-ism. So what? One might say 'that's show business, darling.' Things change. Time waits for no one. For months, there has been a recurring story highlighting how much time Lorraine has off – and how many weeks stand-in presenters are on her titular show. People seemed incensed – as though she had held a proverbial gun to bosses' heads and demanded time off. Having worked in TV across many roles and stations – and on Lorraine for a decade – I know that no one has that power. And if they do negotiate a cracking holiday clause in their contract, more power to them. Shouldn't we be happy a woman negotiated (what I'd imagine) was a contract to have school holidays off to spend time with her daughter? The only reason Lorraine got her own show and any power to negotiate was because she was the best in the business. That's my personal opinion and one borne out by ratings. Weekly I would appear as a showbiz expert or news pundit. I will never work with as natural, professional or hard-working a presenter again. She makes it look easy and that is the hardest thing to do. While we know her for flirting with George Clooney (with excellent interview results) over her career, Lorraine was a first class reporter at some of the darkest scenes in recent history – not least Lockerbie and Dunblane. People get bad news about work every day – lawyers, bar staff, restaurant owners, footballers. No one's career is ring-fenced. But none (footballers and anyone in the public eye excepted) have to deal with the tall poppy syndrome in the press that follows and public vitriol. If a lawyer, for example, has consistently brought in great clients and results for 40 years, they'd doubtful come in one day to say half their team was axed then face commentary in every newspaper. The press who write negative stories around Lorraine are out of step with the reality – because you won't find anyone in the industry with a bad word to say about her. There is no air kissing acquaintances at a party before looking over your shoulder to see if there's anyone more 'important' around. And there is no dropping pals just because they no longer work on screen. Take the time she invited my husband Jamie and I for dinner to her old house in the Ferry. Another few couples were there – among them her friend Timmy – who turned out to be the one and only Timmy Mallett. He was every inch of what you'd expect and hope he'd be – resplendent in colourful Hawaiian shirt and interested in every person around the table and had us laughing like drains. It was decades since he'd left ITV (check out his artwork – including some beautiful Dundee landscapes) but that doesn't matter – a friend is a friend. When you've been at the top so long, maybe it's just your time – your five minutes of negativity. It will pass. Lorraine recently reported viewing figures of 1.1million. I hope Lorraine stays. For half a Lorraine is better than none – and better than a whole heap of whole others. And if she doesn't, good on her. Her future is bright and she has a gorgeous granddaughter to spoil. She is a national treasure who our screens would be far less rich without.
Leader Live
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha criticises ‘out of the blue' ITV daytime cuts
The changes are expected to cause job losses across ITV's morning offering including This Morning, Lorraine and Loose Women, which will be broadcast from a new location in central London while still being produced by ITV Studios. Good Morning Britain is to be extended by half an hour from January, while Lorraine Kelly's morning talk show will be reduced to 30 minutes for 30 weeks of the year, ITV said earlier this month. This Morning, hosted by Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, will remain in its 10am-12.30pm slot on weekdays through the year, with panel show Loose Women on from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. On her YouTube channel, Sawalha said Loose Women had been 'highly successful' along with the Lorraine show, and called conversations about the cuts 'misogynistic'. The actress, who was in EastEnders and The Bill and appeared on ITV competition show Dancing On Ice in 2011, said: 'What people don't realise at Loose Women is that we're self-employed, I am self-employed. Every contract is a new contract. 'I could be let go tomorrow, I could be let go in five years, you don't know because we're not employees.' Sawalha added: 'What's been brutal, absolutely brutal, over the last week, honestly I feel tearful about it, is that hundreds of people… are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are all the people behind the scenes that support us in every way.' She accepted that inflation was 'insane, and cuts have to be made', before becoming emotional. She said: 'A lot of my friends and colleagues on this show and have worked for ITV have been there for decades… and I can't tell you how upsetting it was to see people walking around numb with shock and fear about what they are going to do… (when) television is coming very slowly to its natural end.' She added that the announcement had 'been so awful, it has been worse than whatever trolls have been saying about our shows that we feel really protective of'. Sawalha said: 'Do you know what, at the moment, all of us on screen are in work and are proud of what we do. 'But behind the scenes there are people that are really suffering, and what you don't realise is when you attack the show you attack them, because you never see all the army of people behind the scenes and how hard they work. 'So to all my friends and colleagues behind the scenes that have just got a huge shock out of the blue, I'm so sorry. 'And (my husband) Mark (Adderley) knows just how upset I've been at home about it. I just can't bear it. So just be f****** kind (to) people.' Scottish presenter Kelly has fronted Lorraine since 2010 and, under the new 2026 schedule, on weeks when the show is not on air, Good Morning Britain will be further extended by another half-hour, airing from 6am to 10am. Kevin Lygo, managing director of ITV's Media and Entertainment Division, said the changes will be 'generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres'. He said: 'These changes also allow us to consolidate our news operations and expand our national, international and regional news output and to build upon our proud history of trusted journalism at a time when our viewers need accurate, unbiased news coverage more than ever.' Lygo added: 'I recognise that our plans will have an impact on staff off screen in our Daytime production teams, and we will work with ITV Studios and ITN as they manage these changes to produce the shows differently from next year, and support them through this transition.' Earlier this month, ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said the company was making 'good progress' on a cost-cutting drive, and she expected to make £30 million of non-content savings during 2025. Other changes to the channel include making Coronation Street and Emmerdale only half-hour instalments, and Dancing On Ice being 'rested'. Dancing On Ice previously took a break after the ninth series in 2014 before making a comeback in 2018. Coronation Street currently airs for three hour-long episodes a week, while Emmerdale has four 30-minute episodes and one hour-long instalment.
Daily Record
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Nadia Sawalha breaks down in tears over ITV cuts and says 'I could be let go tomorrow'
Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha has broken her silence on the ITV daytime cuts, which will see the show reduced to just 30 weeks a year and the team behind the programme merged with Lorraine and This Morning. Loose Women's Nadia Sawalha has candidly discussed the ITV daytime reductions, expressing her heartbreak for colleagues facing redundancy and sharing concerns over her own future on the show. ITV has announced cuts to their programming, reducing Loose Women to a 30-week annual run and merging the production teams behind Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women, resulting in notable job losses. Scots telly favourite Lorraine Kelly's programme will be cut down to half an hour and aired just 30 weeks per year, triggering an extension of Good Morning Britain up to 9.30am each day. While the stars of Loose Women had remained silent about the network's restructuring, sources suggest turmoil behind the scenes. However, Nadia Sawalha broke that silence, opening up about the impact of the cuts in her most recent YouTube video. Speaking honestly in the clip, she said: "Do you know what, at the moment, all of us on screen are in work and are proud of what we do. But behind the scenes there are people that are really suffering. "And what you don't realise is when you attack the show you attack them, because you never see all the army of people behind the scenes and how hard they work." Sawalha went on to address her unseen colleagues directly, saying: "So to all my friends and colleagues behind the scenes who have just got a huge shock out of the blue, I'm so sorry. "Mark knows how upset I've been at home about it. I just can't bear it. So just be f*****g kind to people." She then said: "What people don't realise at Loose Women is that we're self-employed, I am self-employed. Every contract is a new contract. "I could be let go tomorrow, in five years, you don't know because we're not employees. So I can't tell you anything except I am on for my next contract. "What has been brutal over the past week and I am getting tearful about it, is that hundreds of people are going to be made redundant out of the blue.' "A lot of my friends and colleagues have been there for decades and I cannot tell you how upsetting it was to see people walking around numb with shock and fear about what they are going to do. "That has been so awful. It has been worse than whatever trolls have been saying about our show that we feel really protective of." Yet sources have refuted claims of significant changes being on the horizon. A source speaking to The Mirror said: "We are not planning any radical changes to the panel. All of our Loose Women are hugely valued and we celebrate each and every one and the experience and opinions they bring to the show every day. "Many of our long standing panellists have appeared on the show for the majority of its 25 year run on screens and those stalwart, Loose legends are at the core of the show's success and hugely popular with the audience. "The show remains a big priority within our daytime slate, having secured a BAFTA nomination, launched a podcast and celebrated a milestone anniversary in the last year alone." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
