ITV star Lorraine Kelly is willing to pull out all the stops to save her daytime show amid severe cuts at the broadcaster
Lorraine Kelly, 65, is fighting to save the long-term future of her show(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Lorraine Kelly, 65, is fighting to save the long-term future of her show. Insiders say the TV presenter – whose programme faces major cuts in an ITV cost drive – will have to “pull out all the stops” for it to survive.
Lorraine will now air only 30 weeks a year instead of all year, with episodes cut to 30 minutes from an hour. A source said: “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 has been an icon of ITV but serious cuts need to be made and her show has been cut to just 30 minutes, which after ad breaks will be a very short chunk of time.
“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.”
Lorraine Kelly, 65, is fighting to save the long-term future of her show(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Lorraine was told her show was being cut back in a tense private meeting with bosses – and will now need to work five days a week to have a chance of keeping it on air long term.
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ITV staff working on daytime were told in a meeting on Tuesday that half of the 440 production staff will go. But boss Kevin Lygo arranged for Lorraine to be told separately in the days before. Lorraine has been a telly regular for 40 years, on GMTV and Good Morning Britain before her own show in 2010.
However, she has not been hosting Friday episodes, with Christine Lampard and Ranvir Singh filling in. Last week staff Lorraine returned after surgery to remove her ovaries, which she discussed on screen.
A source close to the show said: “February, March and April celebrated the highest viewing figures for three years. The show reaches 1.1 million every day and 2.7 million every week.”
The ITV cuts will also affect other daytime shows, with Loose Women rumoured to be losing up to 10 of its 26 panellists.
Good Morning Britain also faces cuts but one constant will be Susanna Reid. A source said: “She is someone ITV want to build the show around and is seen as an essential part of daytime. She is 100% safe from the cuts.”
Hundreds of staff are now in a consultation process at ITV. 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.
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“Our intention is to keep our daytime shows as familiar to viewers as possible which includes seeing presenters they know and love.”
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