Lorraine Kelly has recalled the moment she was left "in a state of shock" after being replaced on GMTV during her maternity leave. The ITV host, 66, began working on the hit morning TV series in the early 90s, and presented the main breakfast show alongside Eamonn Holmes.
However, when she became pregnant with her daughter, Rosie - who she shares with husband Steve Smith - she was axed from the small screen while spending time with her family. In the latest episode of Saga's Experience is Everything podcast - which she is now the host of - she spoke to Susie Dent about the early days of her career, and how she was let go with no warning.
'It was unusual to see somebody pregnant on television'
"I was working at GMTV at the time and back then, believe it or not, it was unusual to see somebody pregnant on television," she explained. "Anne Diamond had been the pioneer because she had her boys, and she was pregnant on air. She got a lot of stick for that ... And I got a little bit of that, but because social media was not around, it hardly registered, so you didn't really know.
"But [Rosie] was born in June and I was supposed to go back to work a couple of months later in September. Crazy to have two months off, that's just mad! Now it would be impossible. I just got a phone call a couple of weeks before and they said, 'Sorry, we've got someone else. Thanks a bunch, but we've got someone else. Thanks for all your work. Bye bye.' That was it. I was in a state of shock really.
'I was just waiting to see what would happen'
"I got my VHS of my best bits - baby under one arm, VHS under the other and I just went around from the top of Scotland right the way down, and said 'I'm available.'" She added: "I was just waiting to see what would happen. It was scary because we had a massive mortgage, we'd just moved south. It was hard and I wasn't expecting it. So that's why I think I never taken anything for granted because I don't know what's going to happen."
However, bosses quickly changed their tune and contacted Lorraine again, offering her a 'mother-and-baby slot' beside Dr Hilary Jones in November 1994 - which she accepted, before landing her very own show. Lorraine has rarely been off our screens since, and has fronted her own weekday morning programme on ITV since 2010. However, due to a shake-up at the broadcaster, her show was cut down to 30 weeks of the year, and reduced to 30 minutes.
New one-year deal at ITV
Despite this, it was recently announced that she had a new one year deal at ITV. Appearing at the Edinburgh Book festival, she shed light on her future, explaining: "I've just signed a new contract. I'll be there until next November, definitely, and after that we will see what happens." Touching on whether she would step away in the future, she insisted: "Oh gosh, yes, absolutely." Hinting at her changing priorities in life, she named her daughter Rosie and two-year-old granddaughter, Billie, adding: "They are the centre of the universe."
