Lorraine Kelly was reportedly given an opportunity by ITV to merge her show with Good Morning Britain but declined.
The broadcaster, 65, was given the option to present the last 30 minutes of Good Morning Britain by ITV bosses, before the channel’s budget cuts were announced last week - according to the MailOnline.
But sources have told the website the presenter was “insulted” by the offer, which led to her show being cut by half an hour.
The publication reports that bosses were hoping the merger would have been an “easy fix”, as there was a similar format during the pandemic.
They add that the host was prepared to quit, but agreed to helm the programme until the end of next year.
There has also been a Head of Lorraine job created, but that contract is only for a year, leading to speculation Lorraine will quit at the end of 2026.
The Standard have contacted ITV and a representative for Lorraine for comment.
An ITV source said: “We were very open about the challenges in the industry and so several options were discussed - the key was ensuring Lorraine was retained and was as comfortable as possible in a changing landscape. Her show is still hugely valued - the show recently had its highest audience share in 4 years and still reaches 2.7 million people.”
Last week, ITV announced that from January 2026 Good Morning Britain will be extended by half an hour, while Lorraine’s morning talk show will be reduced to 30 minutes, only running for 30 weeks of the year.
Known colloquially as GMB, the news show Good Morning Britain first aired in April 2014, and has had a string of anchors such as Piers Morgan, Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard. Lorraine has fronted has fronted the talk show Lorraine since 2010.
“GMB will be made by a dedicated team within ITV News at ITN,” a press release from ITV said.
“This change will see ITV bring all its national news gathering into one hub, with Good Morning Britain benefitting from the journalistic and production resources already in place for national news bulletins, for the website and for digital platforms including ITVX.”
Lorraine will now only run for 30 weeks of the year, and will air from 9.30am-10am when it’s on.
And when Lorraine is not on air, Good Morning Britain will run from 6am to 10am.
The presenter recently had keyhole surgery to remove her ovaries and fallopian tubes after a number of tests and scans.
The Glasgow-born star, who last year celebrated 40 years in television, said she had not “been feeling all that well for a little while”, which prompted her to seek medical attention.
