ITV GMB’s future in doubt as staff receive email over ‘unsettling and stressful’ development
The future of ITV’s Good Morning Britain has been thrown into uncertainty after staff received an email addressing what was described as an “unsettling and stressful” development.
GB News has seen an email sent to Good Morning Britain staff who are members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) earlier today.
The email stated the union was reaching out “due to the recent rumours about GMB’s future”.
It added: “Currently, I do not know anything more than any of you, but I am trying to find out more and will let you know as soon as I do so.”
The message went on to encourage an NUJ point of contact to keep the union informed of any new developments so it can respond appropriately “to whatever happens.”
It concluded: “I appreciate that the uncertainty will be very unsettling and stressful right now, but you will at least have a collective voice in this process via your union.”
ITV and GMB have both been contacted for comment by GB News regarding the rumours.
The ITV bombshell news comes a year after it was reported the channel had been in crisis talks over the daily programme, along with This Morning, which airs after Good Morning Britain on weekdays.
The Mirror reported last April that meetings were held by ITV’s daytime boss, who reportedly referenced a graph showing the rapid decline in ratings.
TM STUFF FROM GBMORE LIKE THIS:
Farage fans fume ‘mainstream media is UNBEARABLE’ as ‘biased’ ITV GMB grilling sparks fiery backlashITV GMB outrage as Reform UK chairman given ‘ridiculous’ Andrew Tate grilling by ‘obsessed’ Ed BallsPiers Morgan announces surprise GMB return after being cancelled for his opinion 4 years ago
A source was quoted in the media at the time as saying: “ITV is really tightening their belt. There have been concerns for months at the top but now that it’s trickled down to the shop floor it feels very depressing.
“A lot of staff are being put on three-month contracts, probably so they can get rid of people easily.”
The insider went on to say last year that pay freeze had been put in place, with new talent kept on hold to keep “costs down”.
Bosses hoped new measures would enable the issue to be fixed, stating in 2024 that the problems had been “particularly difficult to stomach” after the re-launch of This Morning.
An ITV spokesperson stated in 2024: “Town hall meetings happen frequently for teams to keep up to date with company news and also serve as an opportunity for staff to have questions answered.”
Speaking to The Mirror, they continued: “The latest one was to celebrate the success of Lorraine Kelly receiving a Bafta Special Recognition Award and the two BAFTA nominations for Daytime last weekend.
“It was also a transparent portrayal of what is currently happening across the industry.”
They went on to explain ratings for This Morning had peaked in April 2024, adding to the publication: “As a broadcaster and streamer, ITV has a range of programming in its Daytime schedules.
Last April, Good Morning Britain also marked its 10th anniversary. Bosses issued a statement at the time celebrating the show’s success.
It read: “Since its launch in 2014, GMB’s share of viewing has grown 7 per cent, from 15 per cent in 2014 to 22 per cent today.
“So far this year, GMB is reaching an average of 5.4m viewers a week with a high of 5.8m, it has been streamed 18 million times and sees daily peak audiences of more than a million.”
However, it seems the last year may have seen a change in course of ratings.