16-07-2025
Andi Peters defiantly hits back at complaints he's 'paid to be on holiday' with stinging swipe at critics live on Lorraine
Andi Peters hit back at complaints that he's 'paid to be on holiday' as he took a stinging swipe at viewers on Wednesday's instalment of Lorraine.
The 54-year-old didn't hold back as he presented a competition segment from Nissi Beach in Ayia Napa, Cyprus.
Over the past year fans have shared their annoyance over the fact that the star has been able to travel to luxurious places around the world just to inform viewers about ITV 's competitions.
And back in February fans Good Morning Britain fans 'switched off' as they blasted the show's 'unacceptable and unnecessary' report from Andi in Cape Town, South Africa.
During today's instalment, he appeared to acknowledge the backlash and made light of the situation.
Andi said: 'Thanks very much indeed Lorraine, welcome back to Nissi Beach here in Cyprus.
The 54-year-old didn't hold back as he presented a competition segment from Nissi Beach in Ayia Napa, Cyprus
'I've got to tell you Lorraine, I've got to make it clear... lots of people are saying "Andi you're always on holiday!"
'I'm not on holiday...'
The camera then panned out at holiday-goers enjoying the sunshine on the beach and he continued: 'Look over there, people who are on holiday.'
It then went back to Andi sipping a cocktail and he said: 'Me, Lorraine? Working.'
Lorraine cheekily chimed in: 'Yeah right! Yeah right.'
Andi and the likes of Kate Lawler, Josie Gibson and Jeff Brazier regularly appear on GMB, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women to share competitions with viewers.
The stars present from a number of incredible places, including Jeff in Thailand at the start of the year.
It comes after last month MailOnline revealed that ITV stopped flying Andi and Jeff to luxury destinations to promote competitions amid job cuts.
MailOnline understands that executives at the channel feel it's in 'bad taste' to continue flying presenters like Andi, 54, and Jeff, 46, to luxury overseas destinations after announcing hundreds of redundancies across ITV daytime shows Lorraine and Loose Women.
This year alone, Andi has broadcast from the Maldives, Australia, Cape Town, and Florida, while Jeff has jet to Thailand, Sri Lanka and Malta, which according to insiders, has 'irritated' production staff who have since been told their roles are at risk.
The broadcaster has resisted sending any of their talent abroad since May 19 when Lisa Snowdon hosted a segment from Cyprus, which coincided with their official announcement of budget cuts and job losses.
And it's not just the frustration of staff members as viewers have also hit out in their hundreds over Andi regularly appearing in sun drenched destinations, with one X user commenting: 'If ITV really wanted to save money they would stop sending Andi Peters to Mauritius or the rings of Saturn every time they have a competition.'
On May 20, ITV announced they were halving TV show Lorraine from an hour to 30 minutes and only broadcasting the show, as well as panel series Loose Women for 30 weeks of the year.
A source 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.
'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.'
Andi has been the face of ITV's competition segments for years, jetting off to an endless list of desirable holiday destinations.
In January, he was in Australia followed by the Maldives, where he appeared on a unicorn float, before flying to South Africa in February and Florida in April.
Meanwhile, Jeff, flew to Thailand in January, Sri Lanka in March and the same month was joined by son Freddy in Gozo, Malta.
But since the announcement of ITV's budget cuts last month, Jeff has instead broadcast from the Cotswolds and London's Television Centre while during Monday's programme of Lorraine, Andi was in Bristol.
MailOnline has approached an ITV spokesperson for comment.
Presenter Jeff flew to Thailand in January, Sri Lanka in March and the same month was joined by son Freddy in Gozo, Malta (pictured in Thailand in January)
Last month MailOnline revealed the extent of future cuts to ITV's Loose Women, with the show set to no longer broadcast with a live studio audience.
An insider confirmed that the programme, which will only air 30 weeks of the year during school term times, is scrapping having fans join them at the London studio because it's too expensive.
This Morning are also cutting back on costs as they resist broadcasting from outdoor locations and sending presenters like Alison Hammond abroad to interview A-list celebrities.
It's been speculated that Lorraine will quit her show following the end of her one-year contract, with the long-running ITV series predicted to be cancelled.
While Lorraine is yet to comment, Loose Woman Nadia Sawalha has spoken out about the 'brutal' cuts and how they have affected her.
She said: 'This show has been highly successful for 25 years, more actually now, it is such a clear brand...
'The brutality of the world... what a lot of people don't realise is that we're self-employed, every contract is a new contract, I could be let go tomorrow or in five years, we're not employees.
'What's been absolutely brutal over the last week and honestly, I feel tearful about it is that hundreds of people are going to be made redundant out of the blue, these are people behind the scenes, that support us in every way.
'It's the way of the world, inflation is insane, cuts have to be made... a lot of my friends and colleagues on this show and at 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 were going to do.'
