Lorraine Kelly has revealed her determination to keep her long-running show going in the wake of ITV’s brutal cutbacks, as she pointedly declared, she was ‘not done yet’.
The TV veteran, 65, saw her show Lorraine face the brunt of the cuts, with the series to only air 30 weeks a year, and Good Morning Britain taking her 9-10am slot for the other 22.
While the show’s previous one hour runtime has also been slashed in half, now running for just 30 minutes from 9:30am to 10am.
In her first interview since the news, Lorraine appeared to hit back at ITV, as she emphasised her four decade-long career.
Speaking to Tom Kerridge on the Proper Tasty podcast, she also poured water on reports that her show could be cut for good, by stating she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail’s new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop.
Lorraine Kelly has revealed her determination to keep her long-running show going in the wake of ITV’s brutal cutbacks , as she pointedly declared, she was ‘not done yet’
In her first interview since the news, Lorraine appeared to hit back at ITV, as she emphasised her four decade-long career (pictured in 2000)
Subtly alluding to her determination to keep her show going, she then added: ’40 years in TV last year was incredible. I got a BAFTA. “Here’s a BAFTA for being alive.” I thought, “Hang on a minute, I’m not done yet”‘
Reflecting on how long she’d been on screens, Lorraine said: ‘I’ve been doing telly for over 40 years. It’s mad isn’t it? It’s absolutely crazy. I started in breakfast telly in 1984, and I’m still getting away with it. Extraordinarily.’
Subtly alluding to her determination to keep her show going, she then added: ’40 years in TV last year was incredible. I got a BAFTA. “Here’s a BAFTA for being alive.” I thought, “Hang on a minute, I’m not done yet”.’
While she also voiced her willingness to ‘be unleashed’ and hold less of herself back, saying: ‘I think now I can be a lot cheekier. Because I’ve always been a bit naughty.
‘Not so much in the morning, but if I do a wee show on Channel 4, or The Last Leg, or something like that. You can be unleashed. And I quite like that.
‘You do have to have a self-edit ʙuттon, and I’m finding mine is not operating as much as it should.
‘So, when I’m sitting there and I look at something and I think, “Gosh, what an absolute k**b that person is,” or how silly they are, I say it and I don’t realise I’ve said it. So I have to watch.’
But Lorraine admitted that even after all these years, she still feels some nerves when presenting her show, though not as bad as when she first started.
She recalled: ‘I remember being so scared about doing a piece to camera and just being unbelievably nervous.
Speaking to Tom Kerridge on the Proper Tasty podcast, she also poured water on reports that her show could be cut for good, by stating she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon
Speaking to Tom Kerridge on the Proper Tasty podcast, she also poured water on reports that her show could be cut for good, by stating she wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon
‘And that doesn’t go away for a long time. It doesn’t ever completely go away I don’t think. I don’t think it should.’
It comes after MailOnline revealed Lorraine was given the chance by ITV bosses to merge her daytime show with GMB to present the last 30 minutes of their broadcast, but she declined.
Last month, she was pulled into a meeting prior to the channel’s budget cuts announcement where she was offered the new proposal, which was considered an ‘easy fix’ after the same format was adopted during the pandemic.
Sources have revealed that Lorraine was ‘insulted’ by the suggestion and told bigwigs it wasn’t a possibility, resulting in the reduced runtime of her show from an hour to 30 minutes.
MailOnline understands that Lorraine, who has presented her show for the past 14 years, was prepared to ‘walk away’ but agreed to continue hosting the series until the end of 2026.
The star is predicted to quit for good next year after a new role тιтled ‘Head of Lorraine’ was created to oversee the changes, but the contract is only for a 12-month period.
Last month, ITV confirmed that ITN is taking over the output of Good Morning Britain while Lorraine and Loose Women will only air 30 weeks per year and are moving from Television Centre to a central London studio.
A show insider revealed: ‘Lorraine was pulled into a meeting with bosses where she was told about Good Morning Britain being taken over by ITN ahead of the public announcement.
It comes after MailOnline revealed Lorraine was given the chance by ITV bosses to merge her daytime show with GMB to present the last 30 minutes of their broadcast, but she declined (Susanna Reid on GMB pictured)
‘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.
‘But she told them no and said it wasn’t even a possibility… fast-forwarded two weeks and the channel announced her show would be cut from an hour to 30 minutes…
‘The entire thing has been an insult and she’s certain to leave when the year-long contract ends.’
Staff now fear the presenter may decide to throw in the towel with a source telling The Mirror: ‘There are genuine fears among staff that Lorraine may decide to walk if the quality of the show they are putting out declines.
‘It’s hard to see how standards won’t fall….and there are questions over whether Lorraine will want to be ᴀssociated with that. Lorraine and her team are perfectionists – it’s why the show is loved by so many.’
A second source said morale is now low among employees, adding: ‘Staff are beside themselves, and have been in tears constantly. It doesn’t make any sense given the trajectory the show is on.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for ITV and Lorraine Kelly for comment.
Lorraine presented fewer than 60 per cent of the editions of her show broadcast in 2024, with Ranvir Singh and Christine Lampard often filling in for her.
Lorraine presented fewer than 60 per cent of the editions of her show broadcast in 2024, with Ranvir Singh and Christine Lampard (seen) often filling in for her
The presenter said her absences were initially due to caring for her sick mother but then also became about her desire to do other things.
She told The Guardian: ‘It’s really hurtful actually. It really is. I’ve not spoken about it before. I’m a grafter and I work really hard and I’ve had to take Fridays off for the past year. I just thought it was weird to care so much.
‘Initially, it was for my mum who has been ill. And it sort of brings you into line with everyone else because if you look at This Morning, everybody else does four days.
‘And as I’m getting older, I want to do other things, more writing, all of that. Mate, I’ve been doing this for 40 years, working my a**e off.’
ITV sources told MailOnline that they have decided to cut resources on their daytime schedule so that the network can invest in more drama programmes.
One said: ‘There is a need to cost save but also so that the right money can go to the right shows and with everything getting more expensive these things have to be looked at.’
The source added: ‘Christine and Ranvir remain part of the ITV daytime family.’