Lorraine Kelly calls cuts to ITV daytime show ‘heartbreaking’ but vows to carry on

Presenter says she had an ‘inkling’ budget slashes were on their way

Lorraine Kelly has called the cuts to her daytime show “heartbreaking” but has insisted that she won’t be quitting.

The 65-year-old, who has presented her titular morning show since 2010, has borne the brunt of ITV pairing back its schedule, with Good Morning Britain now occupying the 9-10am slot for 22 weeks of the year.

Speaking about the cutbacks for the first time in five months, Kelly has vowed to remain in the role despite rumours suggesting that she might quit.

“I don’t see me going anywhere until people get fed up, you know? Until people say, I’ve had enough of that one,” she joked to The Mirror.

“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,” she added. “I’ve grown up with them. They were babies when they started with me and now they’ve got babies of their own.”

Kelly selflessly admitted that she wasn’t annoyed about the cuts for herself but for the rest of the team but she’s “happier about it now,” knowing that they’ve been deployed elsewhere.

Lorraine Kelly has presented her show for the last 15 years (ITV)

The Scottish star also said that she had an “inkling” the cuts were on their way and had been “punching way above our weight for the quality of guests that we get on” due to the lack of budget.

However, despite the setbacks, Kelly doesn’t have any plans to retire. “I am going to be toddling off that show in my Zimmer frame and even then, I’ll be coming in,” she said.

“I look at people like Janet Street Porter, Gloria Hunniford, still doing Loose Women, I mean, Gloria’s in her 80s, you look at Angela Rippon, 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.”

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In May, ITV announced a major overhaul of its daytime schedule with episodes of Lorraine shortened to 30 minutes with the remaining half-hour added to Good Morning Britain’s runtime.

From January, Lorraine will air from 9.30am until 10am for 30 weeks – instead of filling its usual 9am to 10am. Good Morning Britain will run from 6am until 9.30am instead of 6am to 9am.

Kelly’s programme will only run seasonally, with Good Morning Britain entirely taking over her regular slot. Kelly will present her programme five days a week, with her Friday stand-ins, Ranvir Singh and Christine Lampard, no longer needed.

This Morning and Loose Women will be unaffected by the scheduling changes and remain in their usual respective slots of 10.30am to 12.30pm and 12.30pm and 1.30pm.

The reshuffle, which comes amid a cost-cutting drive at the broadcaster, will also effect some production staff.