Lorraine Kelly will be honoured with a BAFTA Special Award on Sunday to mark her four decades in television. Appearing on Good Morning Britain this morning to discuss the accolade, she jubilantly declared that she’d still be presenting her show when she’s in her “zimmer frame”.
However, not everyone was as complimentary towards her as GMB hosts Kate Garraway and Ed Balls had been. Referring to her various absences from her ITV show, one viewer swiped: “A BAFTA for the most sick days?”
“Lorraine Kelly acting like she’s gonna be working forever. She can barely make it in the whole week #gmb,” another exclaimed. “’Lorraine’s here today as she always is.’ Seriously, are you taking the p***, Garraway?” a third quizzed.
Lorraine has on occasion taken time off from her usual hosting role in recent months as she has a sickly mum to care for in Scotland. However, one brutal follower wasn’t about to let her forget the absences, even setting up a Twitter account to sarcastically congratulate her for each day she successfully hosted her own show.
Lorraine previously brushed that off as “funny” – and she certainly seemed in high spirits today as she revealed her delight at the BAFTA news. “People trusting you with their stories is a huge honour!” she exclaimed.
However, as the interview continued to run, viewers criticised Ed Balls for “putting Lorraine in the same category as interview greats like [Michael] Parkinson”, arguing: “She can’t interview for toffee.”
“They should axe Lorraine and extend #GMB another hour to 10 AM,” insisted another viewer who took to Twitter in indignation.
“Ok, so #gmb is definitely taking the p*** now, blowing smoke up Lorraine Kelly, telling her that hers is the interview the politicians HAVE to do,” another exclaimed.
“So loved??? I’ve been on here for 4 years and I’ve yet to see a positive tweet about Lorraine #gmb,” a third complained.
However, despite the backlash, Lorraine’s show is said to boast 5.5 times more audience demand than the average show, based on the last 30 days, according to the website Parrot Analytics.
Meanwhile, she has also been praised by others for her “phenomenal” presenting technique – so it’s not all negativity.
Today, she vowed to Ed and Kate: “I’ll just keep going [with my show] until I shuffle off – I’ll still be here when I’m in my zimmer frame!”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
