Ed Balls has sparked fresh outrage on Good Morning Britain after making a remark about his wife, Yvette Cooper, during a discussion about who might become the next Chancellor under the new Labour leader. The former shadow chancellor, who has been a co-host on the ITV breakfast show since 2015, faced immediate backlash from viewers who accused him of treating the matter as a joke.
Comment Triggers Viewer Ire
On Wednesday's episode, co-host Susanna Reid asked journalist Kevin Maguire about the potential successor to the Treasury role. Maguire replied: "My 20p, for some time, rightly or wrongly, has been on Yvette Cooper. We don't know anyone who knows her." Reid then turned to Balls, who raised his eyebrows and said: "News to me." The comment provoked irritation online, with one viewer writing: "Kevin Maguire: 'My 20p, for some time, has been Yvette Cooper.' Ed Balls: 'News to me.' It's treated as a joke." Another added: "Loud mouth and Yvette Cooper's husband Ed, they are helping to destroy what used to be one of the best morning shows."
Previous Controversies
Balls has faced a series of controversies since joining GMB. In 2024, he interviewed Cooper, who is now the UK's Foreign Secretary, prompting 16,000 complaints to Ofcom. ITV defended the interview at the time but said it would not be repeated. Earlier this year, sources claimed ITV bosses were facing mounting pressure to sack Balls after his clash with Green Party leader Zack Polanski, although the channel denied the claims. A GMB spokesperson told The Standard: "Ed Balls remains a valued member of our presenting team. Any suggestions otherwise are categorically untrue."
Clash With Zack Polanski
In April, Balls argued with Polanski on the show after the Green Party leader accused him of bias. Polanski said: "Do you know what I'm enjoying? The fact that a Labour politician who's married to a senior Labour minister is allowed to ask questions of a leader of a Green Party." Balls interrupted: "You said I was a Labour politician. Did you mean that or not? I haven't been a Labour minister for 20 years. Unfortunately, Mr Polanski, I lost my seat in 2015 and I've not been a Labour politician for 10 years." Later, Polanski refused to answer questions about his former job as a hypnotherapist, accusing Balls of using "shock-jock tactics" and "pretending to be a journalist who's interrogating the leader of a political party... with a very strong association with a Labour government who are currently in power". He also reshared a post claiming Balls came across like a "classroom bully" during the interview.
Pressure Behind the Scenes
After the clash, an insider told The Sun: "It's an easy win for politicians on the show to give the impression Ed is being biased towards them because of who he's married to. Ed knows this, but lost his cool yesterday. There have been whispers behind the scenes about how it makes the programme look, but that's been going on since he interviewed his own wife. It's clear there is growing pressure to distance Ed from the show but bosses keep backing him."
