Lorraine Kelly 'signs a major deal with ITV rival Channel 4 for a big-budget travel series' amid fears she could quit her daytime show after brutal cuts

Daily Mail​

17 hours ago

Lorraine Kelly has reportedly signed a major deal with ITV rival Channel 4 for a huge budget travel series after Lorraine was hit by cuts.
The Scottish presenter's morning show has also seen her key production role, Head of Lorraine be axed, according to The Sun On Sunday.
And this is just the latest in a series of blows for the show, as the year-round hour-long show was reduced to just 30 weeks of 30-minute slots from next year.
Lorraine first joined ITV in 1984 and has appeared on many flagship shows including GMB alongside Eamonn Holmes.
A source told the publication: 'Channel 4 were delighted to have Lorraine on board. It was exciting for Lorraine to do something different and be on location again.
'Despite the apparent slight in the ITV daytime shake-up, Lorraine's loyal fanbase isn't to be underestimated and they will follow her wherever she goes.
The Scottish presenter's morning show has also seen their key production role, Head of Lorraine be axed, according to The Sun On Sunday
The source continued and claimed she is 'gutted' over the cuts and is now 'opening her eyes' to upcoming options in the industry.
This comes after viewers 'turned off' and swiped 'her days are numbered' after a catty remark about Love Islanders' looks on last month's episode of her ITV show.
She returned to our screens for another instalment of the popular early morning programme.
Lorraine was joined by Lucie Cave and influencer Emily Clarkson during the show to talk about a segment on the dangers online beauty filters - and they got chatting about ITV2's Love Island.
The broadcaster pointed out: 'I'm interested in programmes like Love Island...
'They to me, I have to say I don't watch it necessarily, but I see clips, it's inevitable to see clips.
'I'm like why do you all want to look the same, why do you all want to have that same sort of look about you?
'Children, I mean they are in their 20s, and they're having work done.; 'It's heart breaking. It's crazy.'
Love Island returned to our screens on Monday for its 12th series, with Maya Jama, 29, as host.
The revived series of the show premiered in 2015 and has gone on to become a fan favourite every summer.
During Thursday's instalment of Lorraine, some took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share their thoughts on the episode.
After a chat with rapper AJ Tracey, 31, one said: 'Lorraine is so cringey had to turn it off #lorraine.'
Another chimed in: 'This interview is just [vomit emoji] get rid of her ffs!'
While others said: 'Two voices on #Lorraine that hurt my ears.'
'#lorraine Kelly's days are numbered total fraudster.'
MailOnline previously revealed Lorraine was given the chance by ITV bosses to merge her daytime show with GMB to present the last 30 minutes of their broadcast, but she declined.
Last month, she was pulled into a meeting prior to the channel's budget cuts announcement where she was offered the new proposal, which was considered an 'easy fix' after the same format was adopted during the pandemic.
Sources have revealed that Lorraine was 'insulted' by the suggestion and told bigwigs it wasn't a possibility, resulting in the reduced runtime of her show from an hour to 30 minutes.
MailOnline understood that Lorraine, who has presented her show for the past 14 years, was prepared to 'walk away' but agreed to continue hosting the series until the end of 2026.
The star is predicted to quit for good next year after a new role titled 'Head of Lorraine' was created to oversee the changes, but the contract is only for a 12-month period.
Last month, ITV confirmed that ITN is taking over the output of Good Morning Britain while Lorraine and Loose Women will only air 30 weeks per year and are moving from Television Centre to a central London studio.
A show insider revealed: 'Lorraine was pulled into a meeting with bosses where she was told about Good Morning Britain being taken over by ITN ahead of the public announcement.
'It was proposed that her show would merge with GMB so that she presented the last 30 minutes of the broadcast, which is what happened when a reduced team were working during lockdown.
'But she told them no and said it wasn't even a possibility... fast-forwarded two weeks and the channel announced her show would be cut from an hour to 30 minutes...
'The entire thing has been an insult and she's certain to leave when the year-long contract ends.'
It was previously reported that staff are fearing Lorraine may decide to throw in the towel after the cuts were announced, with a source telling The Mirror: 'There are genuine fears among staff that Lorraine may decide to walk if the quality of the show they are putting out declines.
'It's hard to see how standards won't fall….and there are questions over whether Lorraine will want to be associated with that. Lorraine and her team are perfectionists - it's why the show is loved by so many.'
A second source said morale is now low among employees, adding: 'Staff are beside themselves, and have been in tears constantly. It doesn't make any sense given the trajectory the show is on.'
ITV sources told MailOnline that they have decided to cut resources on their daytime schedule so that the network can invest in more drama programmes.