Lorraine Kelly has spoken out about her concern that viewers might stop watching her long-running ITV morning programme after it was announced the show will be dramatically reduced in length and frequency.
Major Changes to ITV's Daytime Line-Up
Fans were left shocked earlier this year when ITV confirmed sweeping changes to its daytime television schedule, a move driven by a need to cut costs. Lorraine Kelly's eponymous show is at the centre of these cutbacks, with its runtime being halved from a full hour to just thirty minutes from the New Year.
Furthermore, the number of episodes broadcast annually will be severely reduced. The show will only air for 30 weeks of the year, meaning Kelly will present just thirty half-hour programmes. In a significant shift, the veteran Scottish presenter, 66, will also host the show five days a week during its on-air periods, as trusted stand-ins Ranvir Singh and Christine Lampard are reportedly being removed from the line-up.
Kelly's Hopeful Plea to Loyal Viewers
While such drastic alterations could panic any broadcaster, Lorraine Kelly is choosing to remain optimistic that her loyal audience will not desert her. Speaking to the Evening Standard, she expressed her primary concern. "Hopefully the audience will still stay with us, because that's the most important thing to me," she said. "The fact that people are so kind and they still watch after all these years."
She emphasised the personal connection she feels with her viewers, stating she considers them friends and never takes their support for granted. "It's an honour," Kelly added, before acknowledging the new reality: "The show continues and obviously it's only going to be the half hour… but you know what, we're still here."
Broader Impact and Behind-the-Scenes Fallout
The schedule shake-up, which begins next month, also affects the popular panel show Loose Women, which will see similar reductions in both hours and episodes. According to reports in the Daily Mail, the cuts to Lorraine and Loose Women are designed to save resources, allowing ITV to reinvest funds into new drama productions.
An insider explained the rationale, stating: "There is a need to cost save but also so that the right money can go to the right shows and with everything getting more expensive these things have to be looked at." The source also clarified that Christine Lampard and Ranvir Singh "remain part of the ITV daytime family," despite their removal from Lorraine.
The changes have already led to notable departures. Dr Hilary Jones, the programme's long-serving medical expert, has confirmed he will leave his role at the end of December. He told The Sun on Sunday: "I'm still working there until December 31 and then I'm a free agent." He suggested he may return occasionally as a guest presenter.
Kelly herself admitted to the Mirror that the news of the cuts did not come as a complete surprise, calling it "indicative of the whole industry." She expressed relief that some jobs had been saved, with many of her team moving to This Morning. However, in a more emotional reflection on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, she confessed to being "devastated" and "very, very sad" about the impact on her team, calling the changes "seismic."
