Lorraine Kelly has spoken candidly about the reduction of her ITV morning show from one hour to 30 minutes, admitting she would welcome a return to the longer format. The Scottish presenter, 66, now describes her daily slot as "half an hour of sunshine."
Show Halved in Cost-Cutting Overhaul
Earlier this year, ITV cut the programme from a 60-minute broadcast to a 30-minute daily show airing from 9.30am to 10am. The show now runs for only 30 weeks of the year, and Kelly hosts all five days herself, meaning long-time Friday stand-ins Ranvir Singh, 49, and Christine Lampard, 47, are no longer needed.
Kelly initially called the "seismic" changes "heartbreaking" and "difficult," particularly the loss of her long-serving behind-the-scenes crew. There were rumours she was considering leaving the network because of the reduced screen time.
Kelly's 'Half Hour of Sunshine'
In an interview for the Christmas edition of Woman & Home magazine, Kelly said: "I'd love to do an hour's show again. Every time I'm in Tesco, people ask, 'Why are you not on for an hour?'. At the start of the year I asked myself the same question because it didn't make any sense and it was really hard because I'd said goodbye to all my team. Then I thought, 'It's now my half hour of sunshine.'"
She added: "When I had the one-hour show, because everything was so s****y in the world – and it's got s****ier – we decided to try and put good news out there. That's what we've been doing since January. We're getting a pint into a half-pint pot."
Kelly also said: "The contract always runs year to year and I've signed up for next year. I wish I could say to myself, 40 years ago, 'Don't stress every July when the contract is up, because you will still be here.'"
Insider Says Kelly Still Disappointed
After her comments emerged, a source told The Sun that Kelly "is still absolutely gutted about the way things have panned out." The insider said she is "putting on a brave face and getting on with the job because that's the professional she is, but privately she's still incredibly disappointed."
The source added: "The fact that she mentioned in the Woman & Home interview that fans still ask why the show isn't an hour was very telling - it's her way of showing ITV bosses that they made the wrong call. Losing half of the running time of her show was bad enough, but losing the team she'd worked alongside for decades and loved like her family was the biggest blow and, almost a year on, she still struggles with that."
According to the source, while Kelly "appreciates TV is an ever-evolving industry and sometimes tough decisions have to be made," she does not understand why her show was cut and others, such as Good Morning Britain and This Morning, were not.
Earlier this year, a source said Kelly felt "flat" and "at a loss" due to the cuts. "She's suddenly found herself with a lot more time on her hands, given these extra weeks off the air, and for a workhorse like Lorraine, it's taken a significant adjustment," the insider said.
Good Morning Britain was extended by 30 minutes to fill the slot left by Kelly's show, and during the 22 weeks she is off air, it runs until 10am. Over 220 daytime production jobs were cut across ITV as Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women lost their dedicated standalone teams and were consolidated into one shared, centralised production resource.
