Susanna Reid’s lost her personal hairdresser and Kate Garraway’s stuck reading the news: KATIE HIND on the inside story of ITV’s budget bloodbath

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

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

When Susanna returned to the show after a two-week Christmas break, viewers noticed her hair looked different. She usually has a perfectly styled blowout, but this time it was less full and bouncy.

ITV is facing serious financial difficulties, leading to layoffs of over half its behind-the-scenes team, according to sources within the company.

Due to budget cuts, Susanna no longer has a personal hairdresser and receives less attention from the hair and makeup team. This is because the team now has to share 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 aspects of the show’s appearance.

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

The cancellation of Susanna Reid’s hairstylist is just a small part of the significant cost cuts ITV has made to its daytime TV shows, which were announced last summer. All four main programs – Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning, and Loose Women – faced major changes, and over half of the people working on those shows lost their jobs.

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

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

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

The broadcaster has left its luxurious studios in White City, West London, and relocated to a smaller, more affordable space at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden.

Loose Women will now only be broadcast for 30 weeks out of the year, instead of its usual 52. The show also no longer features its regular live studio audience because its new studio space is much smaller.

There’s also been some upset behind the scenes this week. Several presenters on Loose Women were unhappy to learn they no longer have private dressing rooms in the show’s newly renovated, smaller studios.

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

Oh my gosh, you would NOT believe the madness going on behind the scenes! I have a friend who works there, and they told me it’s absolutely chaotic. Apparently, they film Loose Women, This Morning, and Lorraine all in the same basement space! Can you imagine? Three completely different sets just crammed into one place – it’s a total squeeze!

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

This isn’t a great situation, but everyone is doing their best with what they have and trying to find a way to succeed.

Things have been tough since they left White City. Back then, each show had its own dedicated space, including dressing rooms and meeting areas. The change has caused some stressful situations and emotional breakdowns.

Lorraine Kelly, who has hosted her morning show since 2010, is reportedly upset and feels humiliated by decisions made by channel executives. However, public sympathy is limited, as many viewers find her to be arrogant and bossy.

Honestly, it’s devastating! They’ve absolutely gutted her show – reduced it from being on almost all year round, 52 weeks, to just 30! And it gets worse! They’ve halved the length of each episode too, from a full hour down to only 30 minutes. Can you believe it? They’re just giving her airtime away to that other show, GMB! It’s a total disaster, and I’m furious!

The effect was clear on Monday: despite a 30-minute timeslot, Lorraine was only visible on screen for 13 minutes and 20 seconds due to advertisements and promotional segments.

Sources say Lorraine is very unhappy. While she’s committed to finishing her current contract, there’s talk she might leave before it’s up. She appears positive on television, but is reportedly very angry behind the scenes.

What’s striking is the lack of sympathy for her. She controlled the show very firmly, and often wasn’t particularly kind while doing so.

Viewers have expressed a lot of support for Kate Garraway, a familiar face on ITV daytime television since she began hosting GMTV in 2000 with Andrew Castle, a former tennis player. GMTV is no longer on the air.

This week, ITV employees were shocked to see the 58-year-old presenter seemingly embarrassed by being asked to fill in hosting the regional news for ITV London while also working on ‘Good Morning Britain,’ where she’s a key host.

Susanna Reid and Ed Balls presented the main news on Good Morning Britain, while Kate Garraway reported on regional news. Many at ITV feel the network doesn’t fully recognize Kate’s value, especially considering how much viewers like her, and following the death of her husband, Derek Draper, in January 2024.

Honestly, it’s just heartbreaking to watch what Kate’s going through. One of her friends said it best – it feels like a real humiliation, and we’re all wondering why they’re putting her in this position. It’s baffling, and nobody seems to understand the reasoning behind it all.

However, other sources at ITV assure me that Kate will be well taken care of and has been given the main presenting role on Good Morning Britain for Fridays – when Susanna Reid is off – where she’ll co-host with her friend Ranvir Singh.

ITV maintains these changes were necessary due to the historically high production costs of these programs. They believe these cuts will ensure the shows have a more sustainable future.

Even though those in charge are being cautious, viewers don’t seem willing to wait much longer for improvement. They haven’t forgotten when Good Morning Britain, with Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan, was a major force in setting the news agenda – politicians used to dread appearing on the show, and it was seriously challenging BBC Breakfast in terms of viewership.

Susanna recently used Instagram to highlight positive growth in their numbers, possibly as a way to address concerns about a recent downturn.

She excitedly announced major changes to the Good Morning Britain studio, and the show is already seeing a boost in viewers! Just two days into 2026, the number of people watching GMB is up compared to last year, and the show’s overall share of viewers has also increased. The team loves their work, and it’s great to see the audience enjoying it too. However, it’s still too early to know the long-term impact of recent budget cuts.

Managers are likely frustrated that viewers quickly spotted the changes and immediately began discussing them.

Some viewers felt the ITN studio in central London seemed quite small, particularly when Susanna and Ed interviewed Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch this week.

Ugh, I saw this comment online and it perfectly sums it up! Someone said they’ve basically crammed ‘This Morning,’ ‘Lorraine,’ and ‘Loose Women’ into this tiny, cheap-looking set, and it just feels…wrong. It’s like someone else is calling the shots, and the whole thing is so lifeless! There’s no warmth, just this empty, echoing space that feels totally claustrophobic. It’s breaking my heart, honestly! They’ve ruined the vibe!

One viewer commented on X, saying the show looked bad, but likely due to budget cuts at ITV. They added that ITV1’s daytime programming needs a significant refresh, as it repeats the same shows daily.

Sources say the guest budget has been severely reduced, with management significantly cutting costs.

Morning shows used to pay celebrities, or people involved in major news stories, as much as £10,000 just to appear on their programs. However, those days are over. According to a network insider, celebrities will no longer receive thousands of pounds for discussing personal issues like divorce or health concerns on TV.

We simply don’t have the money for high-profile interviews anymore. From now on, the show will only feature guests who appear for free and have something they want to promote.

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

However, that’s not very reassuring for most ITV employees, who are worried the company will stop producing high-quality shows.

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

Okay, so I’ve been following this for ages, and apparently, they’ve always intended for the breakfast show to work closely with ITV News – sharing stuff behind the scenes, which is smart, honestly. But the best part? They’re not getting rid of the team who actually make the show! My sources say they’ll still be the ones planning everything and putting it all together each day. It’s such a relief to know the people I love watching are still in charge – they get what makes this show special!

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.

Without enough staff to attract and arrange travel for guests, we expect the quality of attendees to decrease, and fewer journalists will be able to report from important news events.

When GMB first started, none of us would have believed this could happen. We’re now concerned about what the future holds.

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2026-01-10 02:20