Lorraine Kelly has spoken candidly about a time when she lost her job with ITV(Image: ITV)
Lorraine Kelly has opened up about a difficult chapter in her career, revealing that she was once told not to return to work just months after giving birth to her daughter. The 65-year-old presenter, who is currently taking time out from her ITV morning show as she recovers from preventative keyhole surgery, made the admission on a new episode of Dr Hilary Jones’ podcast.
The episode was recorded ahead of her hospital stay and is now available to watch on YouTube or listen to on Spotify. During the conversation with Dr Hilary, Lorraine thought back to the moment she found out her contract would not be renewed by GMTV in the mid-90s, calling the experience “really frightening”.
She told the podcast host: “I had just been told not to come back to work. My daughter was born in June and I was supposed to go back in September. But just before the end of August, I got a call saying, ‘We’re really sorry, we’re not renewing your contract, we’ve got someone else’ – which was Anthea Turner with Eamonn [Holmes].
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Lorraine continued: “I thought, ‘Oh my God, what am I going to do?’ I had a massive mortgage, a tiny baby, and Steve [her husband] was working all hours. It was scary. It was really frightening. Anyone who loses a job knows how scary that is, especially when you’re freelance.”
Lorraine Kelly has spoken candidly about a time when she lost her job with ITV
The ITV star, affectionately dubbed the “queen of daytime TV”, also spoke about the challenges of working in the industry without the security of maternity leave. ““We didn’t have that if you’re freelance – you just go back to work,” she explained.
Despite the setback, Lorraine didn’t give up. She began approaching other broadcasters in search of work, armed with a VHS tape of her presenting highlights.
Eventually, GMTV got back in touch and offered her the chance to front a “mum and baby slot”, which was a role that ended up paving the way for her own show and the decades-long career that followed.
Fans have rallied around the Scottish presenter recently as she takes a break from her ITV chat show to focus on recovery from her surgery.
She shared a reassuring update from her hospital bed this weekend, confirming that the operation was preventative and done via keyhole surgery.
“I’m being very well looked after,” she said. “It’s purely preventative. I’m going to be totally fine and I’ll see you soon.” While Lorraine rests, This Morning’s Sian Welby has stepped in to host the ITV programme.
Sian shared a tribute to Lorraine while taking her place on the sofa, saying: “Before we get started obviously we want to wish Lorraine a speedy recovery. You might have seen her post over the weekend. She’s been in hospital for an operation; I know she’s planning to be back here as soon as she can.”
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