Lorraine Kelly has broken her silence on the upcoming ITV cuts, which will see her show reduced in length and cut to airing just 30 weeks of the year.
Scottish star Lorraine, 65, will see her self-titled show air for just 30 minutes per day on a seasonal basis from 2026 onwards.
Lorraine Kelly addresses ITV cuts
Earlier this year, it was announced that Lorraine and Loose Women would be impacted by some major ITV cuts, which have previously been described as a “bloodbath”.
Lorraine will see its runtime halved from 2026, airing for just 30 minutes rather than 60 (with adverts). It will also only air for 30 weeks per year, rather than the whole 52. This means the show will lose more than 100 episodes in 2026, as well as a lot of staff.
Now, a few months after the cuts were announced, Lorraine has shared her opinion on them.
“It’s really heartbreaking to split up the team, a lot of my team have been with me for more than 20 years and they’re my friends. I’ve grown up with them. They were babies when they started with me and now they’ve got babies of their own,” she told The Mirror.
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Lorraine Kelly talks future of her ITV show
The star then went on to say that her “first” and “main” focus after the cuts were announced was to ensure as many jobs as possible were saved.
Lorraine said she was pleased that a lot of her team have since been redeployed onto other shows.
“It’s been difficult with the cuts, it’s been hard. I’m a lot happier about it now, but it was honestly and genuinely all about the team. I wasn’t annoyed or angry about this for me…it was about the team,” she said.
Will the star be leaving?
During the chat, Lorraine also revealed that she has no plans to quit or retire, despite the cuts.
“I don’t see me going anywhere until people get fed up, you know? Until people say, I’ve had enough of that one,” she said.
She also denied claims that she will be leaving at the end of her contract. Lorraine explained that everyone’s contract is for a year as they’re freelancers.
The star added that the cuts have not accelerated any plans to retire. In fact, she has plans to come in to work, even after she’s retired, citing stars like Janet Street-Porter, Angela Rippon and Gloria Hunniford, who are 78, 81, and 85, respectively.
She said that looking at them, she knows she “will be there [working]” when she is their age.
Lorraine airs on weekdays from 9am on ITV1 and ITVX.
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