HEARTBREAKING: Lorraine Kelly issues STATEMENT after shocking ITV show AXED

TV presenter Lorraine Kelly has described the cuts to her show as “heartbreaking” as she opened up about the upcoming changes. It was previously revealed that over 220 staff members face redundancy, with significant schedule restructuring planned across ITV. Despite earlier speculation that she might quit, the 65-year-old has vowed to continue with her self-titled programme. She said: “I don’t see me going anywhere until people get fed up, you know? Until people say, I’ve had enough of that one.”

Speaking about the cuts, which will see her show slashed from an hour to 30 minutes and limited it to 30 weeks a year, Lorraine said her first concern was for the team affected by the changes. The presenter admitted: “It’s really heartbreaking to split up the team, a lot of my team have been with me for more than 20 years and they’re my friends. I’ve grown up with them. They were babies when they started with me and now they’ve got babies of their own.

“It’s been difficult with the cuts, it’s been hard. I’m a lot happier about it now but it was honestly and genuinely all about the team. I wasn’t annoyed or angry about this for me..it was about the team.”

Lorraine explained she was glad that many members of her team had since been redeployed to other shows.

The Scottish star made it clear that the recent changes to her show haven’t brought forward any plans for retirement. Lorraine said she hopes to continue working well into old age, drawing inspiration from fellow presenters like Loose Women’s Janet Street Porter and Gloria Hunniford, who remain active in their careers into their 70s and 80s.

Lorraine added: “You look at these astonishing women who are just getting into their stride in their 70s and 80s, and I look at them and I think, ‘Yep, I’m still going to be there.’”

Lorraine mentioned she had a feeling the cuts were coming, noting that despite budget constraints, they’ve worked hard to maintain high-quality guests on the show, reports The Mirror.

The ITV host said: “It was kind of like, we sort of had an inkling that things were going to change. Because we’ve made a lot of cuts, and we’ve been trying really hard to make sure that because we don’t have that much money, we actually punch way above our weight for the quality of guests that we get on.

“I mean, I’ve just been talking to George Clooney for God’s sake. He wanted to talk to me.”