Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls delivered a major breaking news announcement on Monday 22 June as Sir Keir Starmer resigned as Prime Minister live on air. The programme extended into Lorraine Kelly's usual slot, replacing her show entirely.
Breaking News Coverage
Camera crews had been positioned outside Downing Street throughout the morning, with Susanna previously hinting that significant developments could emerge during the live broadcast. Ed explained: "Newspapers would not be reporting it, and BBC and ITV would not be saying this on camera without any correction from 10 Downing Street unless it is true."
Susanna added: "Is Sir Keir Starmer announcing his resignation this morning? That could happen while we are on air, he could set out a timetable for his departure, and Carol Vorderman will tell us why she thinks Andy Burnham will be the Prime Minister."
Schedule Changes
Susanna revealed that Good Morning Britain would extend until 10am, replacing Lorraine Kelly's programme, which typically begins at 9.30am. As Downing Street assembled the podium ahead of an eagerly awaited statement, Susanna announced: "We are now in rolling news mode, we will be on air until 10am this morning because we've anticipated it all morning."
Susanna and Ed interviewed Education Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, alongside ITV's Robert Peston and Carol Vorderman.
Political Pressure
Mounting pressure had surrounded calls for Sir Keir to step down, despite his pledge on Friday to continue as Prime Minister. Following Andy Burnham's success in the Makerfield by-election, speculation regarding Sir Keir's resignation started to circulate.
Lorraine's Recent Schedule Shake-ups
The scheduling change comes just days after Lorraine Kelly was temporarily replaced on her ITV show by stand-in presenters Josie Gibson and Ruth Langsford while she was in the US attending Scotland's World Cup fixture. Previously, Christine Lampard and Ranvir Singh would take over hosting duties for Lorraine during her seasonal breaks.
ITV has seen a number of significant changes in recent months, with Lorraine's former one-hour slot now reduced to just half an hour, airing for only 30 weeks of the year. Good Morning Britain runs straight into This Morning for the remainder of the year.
Lorraine previously spoke out about the changes, insisting: "We're still here." She told The Evening Standard: "Hopefully the audience will still stay with us, because that's the most important thing to me, is you know, that the audience are still enjoying what I do and the fact that people are so kind and they still watch after all these years and when I go out and about, people greet me like their friend, which is really, really lovely. And I don't think that happens to all that many people. You know that you've got that connection, primarily because I've been doing it for so long, but it's something that I never, ever take for granted, and I never take any of this for granted. I really don't, because it's, it's an honour."
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.
