Good Morning Britain presenters Ed Balls and Susanna Reid stayed on air for an extra 30 minutes on Wednesday (November 4) after a power cut struck ITV's Covent Garden studio, forcing Lorraine and This Morning off the schedule.
During the programme, Susanna explained that the team would normally find out what Lorraine had in store, before Ed noted that "an event has occurred". Susanna then added: "A power cut at her studio. Lorraine is not on air today." She continued: "But we're here till 10 o'clock!" Ed joked: "That is such good news! Another half hour with you!"
Technical issues during ad break
Susanna proceeded with the morning's top stories, confirming: "It is nine o'clock, and we are with you for another hour. The power never goes off in this studio."
GMB subsequently cut to a commercial break, though no advertisements appeared. Instead, numerous viewers encountered a blank display featuring only the ITV logo. Bewildered fans quickly took to social media, with one person asking on X: "What's going on? ? ?" Another added: "I have never seen this loading screen before," while a third said: "Somethings afoot here." Someone else echoed the sentiment, asking: "Is it just ITV that has power cuts or is it the whole of London?"
As the broadcast resumed, Susanna offered an apology for the technical fault, stating: "We do have to say sorry to some of our viewers who have been affected by technical issues during our ad break. Frankly, who knows what might happen between now and 10! It's a kind of rollercoaster, isn't it?"
Lorraine Kelly's response
Lorraine Kelly took to Instagram to reveal that her show would be removed from air owing to the outage, recording a video while travelling into work. The caption stated: "These things happen. Can't be helped."
In the footage, she remarked: "Hello there! I'm on my way to work, but there's been a bit of a hoo-ha. There is a power outage at the studio, so my show won't be on today. But you can still watch GMB, and they're going to fix it around about 11 o'clock ish, so This Morning will still be on as well, just a little bit later."
She added: "So, it's a bit of a shame. I was really looking forward to talking to Sharleen Spiteri from Texas, but we shall reschedule and all will be fine. And I will see you tomorrow. Okay, bye!"
Studio relocation and ITV statement
ITV's daytime shows made a notable departure from their West London home in the wake of broadcaster cutbacks earlier this year. Good Morning Britain now airs from ITV's headquarters, while Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women have all relocated to a shared studio in Covent Garden, London.
A statement has since been issued by ITV saying: "Following a power cut overnight int he wider area where our Covent Garden sudio is based, we are unable to brodcast Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women live today. We will return to normal schedule as soon as possible."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am.
