Lorraine Kelly has opened up about a setback in the earlier stages of her broadcasting journey, long before she became a household name. In a recent interview, the 66-year-old shared how she was left "crushed" after being told she'd never succeed on television.
Early Career Struggles
Recalling how her career started, she explained: "I just bombarded the BBC. They must have got fed up with me. I applied for a job in Aberdeen as their farming correspondent, I wouldn't even know one end of a cow from the other, I mean I had no idea."
"But I just thought, eventually they're going to get so annoyed with me for just applying for everything that they're actually going to give me a job and they did."
By 1983, Lorraine had landed a position as a researcher for BBC Scotland and, while she "absolutely loved it", her ambitions stretched towards becoming a reporter.
"What I wanted to be was a reporter, but it wasn't to be sadly," she revealed to Vernon Kay on BBC Radio 2's Tracks of My Years.
The Crushing Comment
"I was always sent out to do vox pops and things because I would talk to everybody, I would talk to nuns and policemen on horse backs, I would talk to everybody."
She went on to describe being summoned to the office by the "big giant boss" at BBC Scotland, anticipating a promotion, only to receive a brutal verdict about her television prospects.
"I thought, 'Oh this is my big chance' and he told me I would never make it in television because of my accent and that was BBC Scotland. Because I've got a Glasgow accent, he said, 'You have to go elocution lessons', I mean, as you can imagine I was really crushed."
"It was back in the day when nobody spoke like me, you wouldn't have people speaking like me on the tele," she continued. However, in a dramatic twist on that very same day, Lorraine went for a reporter position at TV-am and landed the role.
Rise to Stardom
She remained in that position until 1993, before playing a key part in the launch of GMTV. The following June, while on maternity leave, she learnt that her contract would not be extended.
Nevertheless, she made her comeback that November, presenting a segment focused on mothers and babies. Lorraine subsequently fronted Nine O'Clock Live, which was later shifted to an earlier broadcast time and renamed Lorraine Live.
Prior to the launch of her highly successful eponymous ITV show, she also helmed several prominent breakfast programmes, including GMTV and Daybreak.
Earlier this year, it emerged that her programme would be cut from an hour to just 30 minutes on a seasonal basis.
Lorraine airs weekdays from 9.30am on ITV and ITVX.
