Daytime TV legend Penny Smith made a triumphant return to BBC Morning Live on Friday, May 29, 16 years after leaving GMTV. The 67-year-old presenter, famous for her role as main newsreader on GMTV from 1993 to 2010, appeared as a roving reporter on the BBC show.
Smith presented a special segment investigating the chaos faced by tourists caught up in the EU's new fingerprint scanner. She was on the ground at Manchester Airport, speaking to travellers and meeting a young woman who missed her flight due to the disruption. She also tested how different substances like water, moisturiser, and alcohol wipes affected the scanner's results.
Viewers welcomed Smith's return, with one writing on social media: 'Can we please see more of Penny Smith on Morning Live?' Another said: 'Great to see Penny Smith back on TV.' The show was hosted by Gethin Jones and Michelle Ackerley.
Smith began her career as a reporter on the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in 1977. She helped launch Sky News in 1989 and joined GMTV in 1993, staying until June 2010. She has since hosted radio shows on BBC London, Talk Radio, and Magic Classical, and appeared on programmes such as Have I Got News for You and Just the Two of Us.
Last year, she reunited with former GMTV co-star Eamonn Holmes during a short stint on GB News. Holmes said at the time: 'I'm delighted to be working with Penny again after all these years.'
