ITV Good Morning Britain favourite axed amid budget cuts

Noel Phillips has been axed from Good Morning Britain, and will no longer appear on the ITV breakfast show. The journalist has appeared on the early morning programme since early 2021, and, as US correspondent, he has reported on numerous major events such as the US election of Donald Trump and the LA wildfires. He would report live on the scene, and often spoke to the programme's regular presenters such as Kate Garraway, Ed Balls and Susanna Reid.

But on Thursday, it emerged via Deadline that he has been dropped from his position on the programme as ITV attempts to shave £15 million from its budget. The broadcaster's earnings have allegedly plummeted by 44 per cent to £99 million during the first six months of the year, sparking a fresh drive to curb production expenses.

Several ITV Daytime brands have been affectedbudget cuts in the last few months. In May, it was announced that from January 2026, Good Morning Britainwill be extended by 30 minutes to run from 6am to 9.30am daily. However Lorraine Kelly's show has been cut in half and will now run from 9.30am until 10am. Not only that, but the programme will only air for 30 weeks of the year. It comes amid news that ITV's soapsCoronation Street and Emmerdale will also be slashing cast members to save on the budget.

During the weeks Lorraine is not on air, Good Morning Britain will run from 6am to 10am. This Morning will remain in its 10am-12.30pm slot on weekdays throughout the year, while Loose Women will be in the 12.30-1.30pm slot for a seasonal basis of 30 weeks too.

READ MORE: Good Morning Britain fans 'heartbroken' as live broadcast halted for tragic news

READ MORE: Loose Women panellist Brenda Edwards fears losing her job amid brutal ITV cuts

Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, explained of the huge 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.

"These changes also allow us to consolidate our news operations and expand our national, international and regional news output and to build upon our proud history of trusted journalism at a time when our viewers need accurate, unbiased news coverage more than ever.

"I recognise that our plans will have an impact on staff off screen in our Daytime production teams."

He added: "We will work with ITV Studios and ITN as they manage these changes to produce the shows differently from next year, and support them through this transition.

"Daytime has been a core element of ITV’s schedule for over 40 years and these changes will set ITV up to continue to bring viewers award winning news, views and discussion as we enter our eighth decade."

Join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Communityor follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Threads- or visit The Mirror homepage