Lorraine cancelled in shock announcement as show confirmed to be taken off air next month
Lorraine Kelly fans are in for a huge shock as an ITV shake-up will see her show taken off the airwaves next month.
As election fever reaches an all-time high, Lorraine's show will be axed the day after the all-important event to make way for political coverage. The polls will open at 7am on July 4, before closing at 10pm, and votes will then be counted up all through the night, as the nation prepares to welcome its new government leader.
This means that Ed Balls is set to have a sleepless night - first hosting an evening election show and then returning to Good Morning Britain bright and early the next morning at 6am. He and co-star Susanna Reid will be leading an extended, extra-long episode of GMB on July 5, meaning that Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women are all facing the axe.
Instead, viewers can expect to receive "up-to-the-minute election news and insights" on ITV as the results begin to roll in. Although the competition is still heating up, it has been predicted that the Labour Party will achieve a historic landslide victory which will see their popularity surpass the moment of their 1997 win.
There's also another threat in store for the Conservatives, with Nigel Farage leading the Reform UK party. It has been predicted that he could lure Tory voters into his corner, which will weaken the Conservative Party's ability to compete against its main rival Labour.
GMB will only run an extra 25 minutes the day after the elections, but the decision has been made to scrap Lorraine completely, as well as the rest of that morning's programming. Another aspect of the shake-up will see Susanna presenting on a Friday - something which she never usually does.
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An ITV spokesperson has issued an update on the huge shake-up for GMB.
They revealed: "The studio will host the best, brightest, most outspoken and listened to political policymakers and commentators in the country including leading political punditry pairing Andrew Pierce and Kevin Maguire, former PM Boris Johnson's communications chief Guto Harri, Labour veteran Harriet Harman, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and newly ennobled Labour peer Ayesha Hazarika.
"[They] will all join as guests as the show continues to cover up-to-the-minute election news and insights through to 9.25am."
Referring to Lorraine's usual slot, they added: "ITV will remain on air from 9.25am with Julie Etchingham leading the coverage."
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"Will Rishi Sunak stay in Number 10 or will Keir Starmer arrive for the first time? Who will be moving into ministerial offices?
"Dramatic political questions are likely to be answered during the live coverage on Day 2."
Meanwhile, on election day itself, Ed Balls will be joined in the ITV studio by former chancellor George Osborne - who is also his Political Currency podcast co-host - and former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The trio can be seen with anchor Tom Bradby on Election 2024 Live: The Results, which kicks off the action on ITV1 on July 4.
