Lorraine Kelly reflected on the highs and lows of her 40-year career and why, despite decades in the industry, she still doesn’t feel fully settled following changes to her ITV show
Lorraine Kelly has opened up about the ups and downs of her career and why, more than 40 years on, she still doesn’t take it for granted. After starting her career as a trainee reporter at 17, she made her on-screen debut in 1984 as TV-am’s Scotland Correspondent, before going on to become a familiar face on programmes including GMTV and Daybreak.
Reflecting on the early stages of her career, the presenter recalled living “from contract to contract” and never knowing what would come next.
While she went on to enjoy a successful career, the 66-year-old said she found herself suddenly out of work after the birth of her daughter Rosie, now 31.
Speaking on Pete Wicks‘ Man Made podcast, she recalled: “I’m a freelancer, I’m a taxi for hire. I don’t take anything for granted, I certainly don’t. After I had my daughter, that was a really bad time – just after having a baby, you’re really all over the place.
“And I got sacked… or didn’t get my contract renewed, virtually the same thing, and that was a very dark time.”
She went on to say: “It was a really hard time because everything is just taken away from you and you’re like, what the hell am I going to do? So, I basically lived from contract to contract.”
Fortunately, Lorraine managed to get back on track, which led to her fronting her self-titled ITV show since 2010.
While the programme has been a success, the presenter, who became a grandmother for the first time in 2024, says she still doesn’t take her career for granted.
“Even now, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Nobody does, we just don’t know. But certainly since I’ve become a granny, I’ve absolutely been able to live in the now because she does,” she said.
Since January, Lorraine has aired fewer episodes as part of a major ITV daytime schedule shake-up. Both her show and Loose Women were reduced to 30-week runs, while Lorraine was cut from an hour to 30 minutes.
Addressing the changes previously, she told Woman magazine: “It’s a different world we live in, isn’t it? I’m a realist and I knew there had to be cutbacks and changes.
“There are so many more outlets now, and television has to cut its cloth in every single department. It’s not like it was.”
Despite the restructuring, she remained optimistic about the future, adding: “This is just another change – and who knows what will happen in six months? They might want to expand it, they might not. Who knows?
“I love my job, I love working with these incredible people, so we just get on with it and see what happens. Nothing ever stays still.”
Lorraine has not been on air since 26 March, but is expected to return in its usual 9:30am slot on 4 May.
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