Good Morning Britain’s showbiz guru Richard Arnold will hold onto his job amid ITV’s “blood-bath” cost-cutting changes.
The studios announced in May that they are slashing the budgets of daytime shows like GMB, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women, meaning more than 220 of the 440 staff involved will lose their jobs.
GMB will be extended by half an hour from January, while Lorraine Kelly’s morning talk show will be reduced to 30 minutes for 30 weeks of the year, ITV said earlier this month.
Arnold, 55, who has presented GMB’s showbiz segment since it launched in 2014, has been told he’s safe in his role, The Sun reported.
“Richard is one of ITV daytime’s best-loved faces never mind on GMB,” an insider said. "Viewers enjoy his slots and he remains very much part of the furniture."
It is also thought that producers Andrew Bullock, Martin Dixon, and Elle Vickery - who are known within the company as “RAP” for Richard Arnold Producers - are all safe.
As part of ITV’s restructuring, This Morning, hosted by Cat Deeley and Ben Shepard, will remain in its 10am-12.30pm slot on weekdays through the year.
Panel show Loose Women will air from 12.30pm to 1.30pm.
All three shows will be broadcast from a new location in central London while still being produced by ITV Studios.
Other changes to the channel include making Coronation Street and Emmerdale only half-hour instalments, and Dancing On Ice being “rested”.
Kevin Lygo, managing director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, said the changes will be “generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres”.
Last month, ITV bosses reportedly angered staff by planning a “tone-deaf” lavish anniversary party amid the budget cuts.
Amid the hundreds of redundancies, the broadcaster has sent out a company-wide invitation for a bash to celebrate 70 years since the channel was set up in 1955.
“Celebrate our 70th in style,” the invite reads, according to MailOnline. “Enjoy delicious food and drinks, Instagram worthy photo opportunities and DJs.”
The party will reportedly have a “platinum” dress code and take place at a location in west London.
Sources claimed “no-one feels like celebrating right now” and that staff think the event is “inappropriate” and in “really bad taste” given the expenses could be used to salvage an employee’s job.
“The feeling among staff is that the channel throwing a party is in really bad taste given hundreds of people are losing their jobs,” an insider told the outlet.
“The event will no doubt cost a large amount of money, and many believe that bosses should put those funds towards tying to limit redundancies.
“Many feel the tone is completely off, no one at ITV daytime, which is the biggest part of the business, feels like celebrating right now.”
There will also be parties for studios in Manchester and Leeds to commemorate the anniversary.
An ITV spokesperson told The Standard they wanted to “thank everyone for their efforts and commitment” and are “mindful of the impact” of budget cuts and are “working hard to support” staff.
