On set with Lorraine Kelly
TV Times goes on set to ask Lorraine Kelly how, after three decades, she is still monarch of the morning… EYE on the opposition…
She’s the undisputed queen of breakfast TV so it’s no wonder Lorraine Kelly throws back her head and laughs when asked if live telly ever holds any fear for her.
‘No, I can cope with just about anything after 30-odd years,’ she grins. ‘We’ve had lights going out, alarms going off, floods, I’ve fallen over, had a fox run through the studio – you name it, I’ve had it!
‘There’s one time I do get nervous,’ she admits. ‘If I’m meeting someone I’m really in awe of, then I get starstruck. Such as Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the Moon. I watched him on TV with my dad when I was wee, so meeting him turned me into a complete fan girl!
‘George Michael was another. I got a nervous rash. I tend to get them if a band from the 1980s comes on. Our young researchers are like, “Oh, it’s some old bloke on today”, and I’m like, “It’s Phil Oakey from The Human League for goodness sake! I’m having a meltdown, my God!” It’s hilarious.’
Having risen with the larks since joining Tv-am in 1984, she’s as bubbly at bleary-eyed o’clock when TV Times arrives to shadow her through a live show of Lorraine as she is when she’s on screen at 8.30am.
‘Come in, welcome,’ she says in her trademark Scottish lilt as we join her in hair and make-up at the ITV Studios on London’s South Bank.
We’d expected a more frenzied atmosphere, but all is calm, with only a few ‘Ahh’s to be heard as Good Morning Britain’s entertainment editor Richard Arnold strolls past with a cute dog in tow.
And so, Lorraine’s masterclass in televisual excellence begins… Pampering done, Lorraine goes into her dressing room, chooses an outfit and has a quick look through the running order of the show to make any last-minute changes.
‘i decide what to wear on the day. A wonderful lady called debbie brings me clothes and it’s quite difficult because there are a lot of women on daytime telly and we don’t want to dress the same. There have been a few times i’ve worn the same outfit as ruth Langsford or nadia Sawalha!’