An alleged 220 people will lose their jobs as a result of ITV’s announced daytime television cuts, including Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women, leaving staff members ‘devastated’.
On Monday, the nearly 500 members of staff across ITV’s roster of beloved daytime shows realised that something was wrong. An email was allegedly sent out by the managing editor of daytime – Emma Gormley – ordering them to attend an emergency meeting the following day, and there was no option to join proceedings remotely. Instead, they were all expected to be there in person, with little notice.
Little reportedly was done to ease their growing anxieties when they arrived at the TC1 studio for the meeting, which is where popular programs like the Graham Norton Show are shot. Instead, what they were met with was chaos, insiders told the Daily Mail, and they quickly realised after sweeping cuts were announced that they had walked into a “bloodbath” – with 220 of them reportedly set to lose their jobs.
Stressed and worried staff weren’t even given the opportunity at the emergency meeting to ask any questions about their professional future – though it is reported ITV is planning on running another meeting, providing the opportunity for staff to do so when management is properly briefed on the answers they can give.
“There will be one team working across what’s left of Lorraine and Loose Women as well as This Morning”, a source told the Mail. “Things are going to be streamlined – and then some.”
There is “so much worry and panic,” they continued. For such a long time ITV was seen as a safe place to work but, right now, there are very few people who are actually not going to be affected by the cuts. ” “
ITV’s roster of daytime shows including, Loose Women, Good Morning Britain (GMB), This Morning, and Lorraine are all set for a huge overhaul. Good Morning Britain, hosted by Richard Madeley and Susanna Reid, will, from next year, be produced by ITN – ITV’s news provider – with only 38 of the 113 staff on the early morning magazine show being kept on.
Lorraine, which has been on the air for 16 years, has seen some of the most devastating cuts: instead of airing 52 weeks of the year, it will only be on TV screens for 30 weeks, and it has had its running time slashed in half from 60 minutes to half an hour. During the weeks when Lorraine is off air, GMB will have an extended runtime, starting at 6 am and ending at 10 am.
Additionally, the 30-week schedule that Loose Woman used to occupy up until 2016 is being reinstated. Whilst its running time has not been cut, staying at its usual hour, bosses are reported to be displeased by the regular falling out amongst the presenters, and the controversies that come with them.
The schedule of This Morning – hosted by Alison Hammond, Cat Deeley, Dermot O’Leary, and Ben Shephard – will remain the same, still on air between 10.30 and Noon on weekdays, but will still be subjected to job cuts if the proposal that the daytime teams merge goes ahead.
A source speaking to the Mail explained that Lorraine Kelly’s absences from hosting her daytime show – leaving Christine Lampard and Ranvir Singh to fill in for her hosting duties regularly – had played a part in the cuts, adding that the bosses at ITV are “besotted” with Susanna Reid of GMB, who they “favour” over Lorraine.
They assert that the presenter’s cover had to keep getting organized, with luckily Christine and Ranvir being able to intervene just in time. The outlet also reported that she’d be facing a salary cut amid her reduced screentime.
Insiders revealed to The Mirror that the major cuts to Lorraine’s show have left staff fearing that the BAFTA-winning presenter might quit altogether, and they called the new schedule a “kick in the teeth” after the recent ratings for the show had been the highest in the last four years.
Staff members are genuinely concerned that Lorraine might decide to leave if the standard of the program declines. It’s hard to see how standards won’t fall…. and whether Lorraine wants to be associated with that is a question. One source claimed that Lorraine and her team are “perfectionists,” which is why the show is so popular.
Another added that “This is a presenter who just recovered from an operation, has won a BAFTA, and is enjoying record ratings.” and then ITV shows their appreciation by suspending her for the rest of the year. Staff are beside themselves, and have been in tears constantly. Given the show’s trajectory, it doesn’t make sense. ”
However, the Mirror has since been told that the rumours swirling around Lorraine Kelly’s suspected departure are “simply not true”. Despite what insiders at ITV have said, there is “collective devastation” among the daytime employees at the prospect of nearly half of them losing their jobs, with one saying: “The devastation among the staff is palpable after the announcement. It would be an understatement to say it surprised them. ” “
One team will work on both the magazine-style morning show and ITV News, according to reports that Andrew Dagnell, the new director of news and current affairs for ITV, had in mind when the rest of the news output was already produced. GMB will now be merged with ITN, and they will relocate from White City Studios to Gray’s Inn Road, where the rest of the news output is already being produced.
A source speaking to the Mail laid some of the blame for these massive job cuts – which aim to save £50 million, which will be reinvested into other departments, like sports and drama – at the door of previous scandals, which they say were badly handled. These include the departure of long-time This Morning host Philip Schofield after it emerged he had engaged in an affair with a younger male colleague, and the cancelling of the Jeremy Kyle Show back in 2019 after the death of Steve Dymond, who is believed to have killed himself only a week after appearing on the show.
An insider told the Mirror that there had been rumours that major change was afoot, particularly when it came to GMB, but it was a total shock to the staff and crews that they would be this wide-ranging. “There had been whispers going round for some time over a merger between ITV News and Good Morning Britain, but no indication that the Daytime shows would be affected.
It is believed that about 50% of the entire staff at GMB, Lorraine, and This Morning will be affected, despite the fact that we still don’t know how many people will lose their jobs. Everyone is completely devastated because the shows are produced by teams of extremely dedicated professionals, they said. The Mirror has approached ITV for comment.
GMB moving under the ITN banner, according to ITV, will give it additional resources and journalistic expertise, and it will feature more regional news, exclusive investigations, and coverage of the day’s news from 2026.
Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, has said about the major changes: “Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust as well generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres.
“These changes also help us consolidate our news operations, expand our national, international, and regional news output, and strengthen our long-standing reputation for reliable journalism in a time when our viewers are more and more in need of accurate, objective news coverage. ” “
Lygo added, “I recognise that our plans will have an impact on staff off screen in our Daytime production teams, and we will work with ITV Studios and ITN as they manage these changes to produce the shows differently from next year, and support them through this transition.
Source: Mirror
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