Keir Starmer's resignation as Prime Minister on Monday, June 22, caused ITV to abandon its regular schedule, with Lorraine Kelly's show being axed to make way for extended rolling news coverage on Good Morning Britain (GMB).
GMB Takes Over Lorraine's Slot
GMB presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls announced the breaking news live on air, confirming that the programme would run until 10am, taking over Lorraine's usual 9.30am to 10am slot. Cameras had been set up outside Downing Street all morning, and Susanna had earlier hinted that major news could break while the programme was on-air.
Ed Balls stated: "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 Reid 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."
Rolling News Mode
As Downing Street prepared the podium for a highly anticipated statement, Susanna said: "We are now in rolling news mode, we will be on air until 10am this morning because we've anticipated it all morning." The extended coverage included interviews with Education Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, ITV's Robert Peston, and Carol Vorderman.
Pressure had been mounting on Sir Keir to resign, despite his vow to remain Prime Minister on Friday. Reports of his departure began to surface after Andy Burnham's victory in the Makerfield by-election.
Lorraine's Recent Schedule Changes
The scheduling shake-up comes just days after Lorraine Kelly stepped away from her ITV programme, with Josie Gibson and Ruth Langsford filling in while she travelled to the United States to watch Scotland's World Cup campaign. Previously, Christine Lampard and Ranvir Singh would step in to host for Lorraine when she took seasonal time off.
However, ITV has undergone a series of changes in recent months, with Lorraine’s previous one-hour slot now cut to just half an hour, running for only 30 weeks of the year, while Good Morning Britain runs into This Morning for the rest of the year. Lorraine previously addressed the changes, vowing: "We’re still here."
She continued to 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."
