ITV has confirmed significant changes to its daytime programmes, as it moves production out of Television Centre.
- Good Morning Britain transfers to ITN.
- Less Lorraine with shorter programme at certain times of the year.
- New studios for other daytime shows.
- Cost savings to be invested into other shows.
For decades, Television Centre was the home of the BBC. Five years after the BBC moved out, ITV1’s daytime shows moved in, with Good Morning Britain, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women taking over the facilities.
Now ITV has confirmed that’s going to change with a major cost-cutting revamp to its schedule from January 2026 that will see its daytime shows move home and staff lose their jobs.
Here’s what’s changing…
Breakfast TV
Good Morning Britain will be extended to run from 06:00-09:30.
Its production base will transfer to the home of ITN, who produce the rest of ITV News, bringing all of ITV’s news programmes together. ITV has indicated the move will drive significant cost-savings.
It’s part of a new deal between ITV and ITN that will see ITN continue to produce ITV’s news output across all of its outlets for another five years.
Historically, ITV’s breakfast news service was always separate from the rest of the broadcaster’s output. That’s because ITV’s breakfast hours were controlled by a separate legal entity under rules established in the 1980s, when TV-am hit the airwaves. Even after ITV took full control of its breakfast output, it continued to separate breakfast and the rest of its news output, with different presenters, studio, reporters and production staff.
Lorraine
ITV stalwart Lorraine Kelly will see her show cut to 30 minutes, running from 09:30 to 10:00.
Additionally, Lorraine will only be on-air for 30 weeks a year. In the weeks that the programme is off, Good Morning Britain will be extended to run until 10:00.
This move will also drive cost-savings, including removing the need to employ substitute presenters for when Lorraine is away.
Daytime TV
Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women will continue to be produced by ITV Studios, but will be broadcast from a new location in central London from the new year.
The above shows were originally broadcast from the former LWT South Bank studios, but were forced out when ITV sold the building to developers. ITV then took up space at Television Centre under an agreement with BBC Studioworks, who continue to operate a limited number of studio facilities at the site on a commercial basis. Most of Television Centre has been redeveloped and converted into residential living space.
ITV declined to confirm where the shows were moving to next.
By ditching Television Centre and moving Good Morning Britain to ITN, ITV hopes to make some cost savings. The broadcaster said in a statement that the changes will fund “additional investment in dramas and in coverage of the major sporting events such as the 2026 World Cup as well as some of the UK’s biggest reality and entertainment shows”.
Loose Women will, like Lorraine, be cut to 30 hours a week, leaving ITV1 to fill its lunchtime schedule with something different, and cheaper, for the remaining 22 weeks of the year.
ITV’s move to cut back on daytime shows follows Channel 4’s decision to cut investment in daytime in order to spend more on primetime and streaming. In 2023, Channel 4 cancelled lunchtime show Stephs Packed Lunch.
ITV Studios is consulting over proposals to cut production staff working on its daytime shows.
Other changes
Next year will also see changes to ITV1’s evening schedule.
As previously announced, ITV1 will create a new soap hour from 8pm from 2026, with one episode of Emmerdale, followed by Coronation Street.
Corporate comment
Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, explained the changes:
“Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust as well generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: Television Centre