Richard Madeley ‘in showdown with ITV bosses after facing axe from Good Morning Britain’

Richard Madeley’s Good Morning Britain position was reportedly under threat (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

British presenter Richard Madeley reportedly faced the axe from Good Morning as ITV issued sweeping changes to its daytime programming.

The 69-year-old host has been a staple of the morning news show since 2017 alongside co-host Susanna Reid and was said to be receiving a lucrative £300k salary for the gig before this ‘bloodbath’.

Madeley’s position was said to be in the firing line after ITV announced a slew of radical changes to its daytime TV schedule, including an extension of GMB by half an hour, and Lorraine dropping to 30 minutes and 30 weeks (rather than an hour, the full 52 weeks).

Loose Women will also only air seasonally. The new schedule will come into force from January 2026.

Now, a source has told The Sun that Madeley was forced to negotiate his way out of jeopardy.

‘This one has really rocked the ITV corridors because Richard is such a big name and a legend of daytime telly. On Wednesday, word started to spread he’d been axed,’ the source explained.

The rumours of his potential axe rocked those at ITV, reportedly (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

Then continued: ‘But, by Friday, it became apparent Richard had a meeting with the network’s most senior bosses and he’s now being kept on in a more part-time role. He’s got himself back on the show – but his hours are significantly cut.’

The insider also added that Lorraine had reportedly been offered to retire as she celebrated 40 years of entertainment, but opted to finish her £500k contract through to the end of 2026.

Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV’s Media and Entertainment Division, said at the time: ‘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 as generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres.

He is said to have negotiated with ITV’s senior bosses to secure reduced pay and hours (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

‘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.’

And acknowledged the impact this will have on ‘staff off-screen’ as they ‘support them through the transition’.

According to the Evening Standard, 220 of the 440 jobs involved in the production of these shows.

As for Richard, he recently appeared on his daughter’s ITV show, Chloe Madeley: A Family Affair, which sheds light on her life as a mother, career woman and wife to James Haskell.

He recently opened up about this almost four-decade-long marriage with his wife Judy (Picture: Getty)

During the first episode, Richard spoke about his 39-year marriage to Chloe’s mother, Judy Finnigan, with whom he presented This Morning for over a decade in the late 90s.

‘I mean, sometimes, you’d have a row. And you’d get to work not talking. But the show was a cure.

‘I mean, it wasn’t, like, false, you actually did genuinely have to come on and do the double act. You would find that within maybe 15, 20 minutes of going on air,’ he explained.

Metro has reached out to Richard Madeley’s representatives and ITV for comment.

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