‘How could they do this to her?’: Bloodbath behind-the-scenes at ITV as insiders reveal how Kate Garraway has been ‘humiliated’, truth about Susanna Reid’s hair – and why ‘furious’ Lorraine Kelly could ‘walk’

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Regular watchers of ITV’s Good Morning Britain may have spotted some changes to the show this week.

And of them, most instantly obvious, perhaps, was its host Susanna Reid’s hair.

When Susanna returned to the show after a two-week Christmas break, viewers noticed a change in her hair. Usually known for her polished look, her typically bouncy blowout was replaced with a flatter style.

ITV is facing severe financial difficulties, leading to layoffs of over half its staff, according to sources within the company.

Due to budget cuts, Susanna no longer has a personal hairdresser and isn’t receiving the same level of attention from the hair and makeup team. This is because Good Morning Britain now shares backstage resources with ITV News.

Hence Susanna looking a little less ‘TV ready’ than she usually does.

According to a source at Good Morning Britain, the show has significantly reduced its hair and makeup team. There are now only three stylists responsible for all guests, presenters, and other show needs.

‘The problem is that the viewers are able to tell.’

The cancellation of Susanna Reid’s hairstylist is a small part of the much larger cost cuts ITV made to its daytime TV shows, which were announced last summer. The network significantly reduced budgets for its four main daytime programs – Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women – resulting in more than half of the production team losing their jobs.

Despite ITV’s attempts to appear confident – they even aired a new promotional video over Christmas featuring popular daytime hosts like Susanna Reid, Cat Deeley, and Lorraine Kelly looking cheerful – the network is actually facing some serious challenges right now.

The changes kicked in this week after a consultation period which saw almost 300 staff sacked.

Good Morning Britain has been combined with ITV News to save money. This means they now share resources for gathering news and use a single studio in London. Additionally, Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women now all have the same editor, Vivek Sharma, who previously worked on the short-lived Channel 5 program, Steph’s Packed Lunch.

As a longtime viewer, I’ve noticed a big change with ITV! They’ve left their really fancy studios in White City – you know, the big, impressive ones – and moved to a much more modest and affordable space at The Hospital Club in Covent Garden. It’s definitely a downsize, but I hope it doesn’t affect the quality of their programs!

As a long-time viewer, I was so disappointed to hear that Loose Women is going to be on for fewer weeks each year – just 30 now, instead of the usual 52. And to make matters worse, they’ve had to ditch the live audience! Apparently, their new studio is just too small to accommodate everyone, which really takes away from the show’s lively atmosphere. It’s just not the same without the energy of a live crowd.

There’s also been some upset at the ITV show Loose Women. Some of the presenters are unhappy that they no longer have private dressing rooms since the show moved to its smaller, new studios.

This is a big change from their old home in White City, where they used to happily run through the long hallways.

According to a source, things are really hectic behind the scenes at the studio. The sets for Loose Women, This Morning, and Lorraine are all located in the same basement area, making for a very crowded workspace.

Dressing room space is tight behind the scenes. It’s particularly challenging when four women are preparing to film simultaneously, as there simply isn’t enough room.

Things aren’t great right now. Everyone’s been asked to manage with limited resources and is doing their best. It’s a big change from their previous setup at White City, where each show had dedicated studio space and comfortable facilities like dressing rooms and meeting areas.

‘There have been some meltdowns.’

Oh, it’s just awful what’s happening to Lorraine! I’ve been watching her every morning since 2010, and to hear she’s feeling ‘humiliated’ by the people running the show… it breaks my heart! Honestly, some people are saying she doesn’t deserve sympathy because they think she comes across as a bit bossy, but I think that’s just ridiculous! She’s a national treasure, and they shouldn’t be treating her this way! It’s just… infuriating!

The show’s schedule has been significantly reduced from 52 weeks to just 30 weeks per year. To make matters worse, each episode has been shortened from an hour to 30 minutes, and that lost airtime has been given to the show ‘GMB’.

The change was clear on Monday. Despite having a 30-minute timeslot, Lorraine was only visible on screen for about 13 minutes and 20 seconds due to advertisements and promotional segments.

It’s no surprise that sources say Lorraine is very unhappy. One insider mentioned she’s committed to finishing her current contract, but there’s a lot of talk she might leave before it’s up, as she’s really not liking the changes that have been made.

Lorraine will likely leave soon. While she claims she’s staying and appears strong on camera, she’s actually very angry behind the scenes.

What’s striking is how little support she’s receiving. She’s always controlled the show very firmly, and often quite harshly.

Viewers have been particularly sympathetic to Kate Garraway, a familiar face on ITV daytime television since she began hosting GMTV in 2000 with Andrew Castle, a former tennis star.

ITV employees were shocked this week to see the 58-year-old presenter assigned to host the regional news for ITV London, a task seen as humiliating given her role as a main host on ‘Good Morning Britain’.

Susanna Reid and Ed Balls presented Good Morning Britain, while Kate Garraway covered the regional news. Many at ITV feel the network doesn’t fully appreciate Kate, who is popular with viewers, especially considering the recent loss of her husband, Derek Draper, who passed away in January 2024.

A friend of Kate’s expressed outrage that she was assigned to read the London news, questioning the reasoning behind the decision and calling it humiliating.

‘She’s better than reading the regional news. Nobody can understand why they make her do that.’

But other people at ITV have assured me that Kate will continue to be supported and has been given the main presenting role on GMB for Fridays – when Susanna Reid is off – and she’ll be co-hosting with her friend Ranvir Singh.

ITV explains these changes are necessary because the shows have traditionally been costly to produce. They believe these cuts will ensure a more sustainable future for the programmes.

Even though those in charge are being cautious, viewers don’t seem willing to wait much longer for a return to quality. They haven’t forgotten when Good Morning Britain, with Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan, was a major force – it regularly set the news agenda, made politicians nervous, and even challenged BBC Breakfast’s popularity.

Susanna recently used Instagram to share positive updates about growing numbers, possibly as a way to challenge recent suggestions that things were worsening.

We’ve made some big improvements to the Good Morning Britain studio, and it’s already paying off! Just two days into 2026, viewership and overall audience share are both up compared to last year. We’re passionate about what we do, and we’re thrilled you’re enjoying it too. Tune in tomorrow!

It’s still too early to know the full impact of these cuts. However, management is likely concerned that viewers quickly noticed the changes and weren’t shy about sharing their opinions.

Some viewers felt the studio at ITN’s London headquarters seemed quite small, particularly when Susanna and Ed interviewed Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch this week.

One online viewer sharply criticized the show’s current setup, saying it feels cramped and cheaply produced. They described the sets for Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women as being squeezed into a tiny space with minimal resources, and noted the lack of a welcoming atmosphere, with noticeable echoes and a claustrophobic feel.

I saw someone else on X say it looks pretty rough, but they reckon it’s down to ITV cutting costs. Honestly, I totally agree – ITV Daytime really needs a shake-up! It feels like we’re watching the same shows on repeat every single day, and it’s getting stale.

I’m hearing that the guest budget has been significantly reduced; management has made deep cuts to how much money is available.

Morning shows used to be able to spend as much as £10,000 to book a celebrity or someone involved in a major news story to appear as a guest on their program.

It appears the days of networks paying celebrities large sums for personal interviews are over. According to a source, budgets no longer allow for those kinds of exclusive deals. Now, the only celebrities appearing will be those promoting something and appearing for free.

‘Again, the viewers have noticed.’

Out of the four morning television shows affected by recent changes, only “This Morning,” with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard as hosts, has managed to avoid any reported drama or negativity among its staff.

However, that offers little comfort to most ITV staff, who are worried the company will stop producing high-quality programs.

This, it seems, is a particular concern at GMB.

Okay, so I’ve been following this for ages, and it’s amazing! Basically, the breakfast show is going to work with the bigger ITV news team – which is smart, right? – but they’re still keeping their own people! The team that makes the show every single day, the ones we all love, they’re not going anywhere. They’ll still be the ones planning everything and getting it on air. It’s a relief, honestly, because you want them making the show, not some random people from another department!

According to a veteran employee, producing a good live news program requires sufficient funding and personnel, and recent layoffs and budget reductions will likely make that impossible.

With a smaller planning team, we expect fewer high-profile guests and less travel coverage of important news events.

It’s clear everyone senses the problem. Even the show’s hosts are concerned they’ll have to think on their feet and fill time unexpectedly because essential equipment isn’t working properly.

When GMB first started, if anyone had predicted this, my colleagues and I would have dismissed it as impossible. Now, we’re concerned about what the future holds.

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2026-01-09 20:36