the nation’s cherished presenter, is hailed by her colleagues as friendly, down-to-earth, and inquisitive traits that have undoubtedly contributed to her impressive four-decade tenure on television.
In her own straightforward manner, Lorraine quips: “I’m just basically nosy. I don’t think I’ve changed in 40 years.
“I still think of myself inside as that kid who came down to London, thinking, wow, this is amazing. I think I will always have that curiosity. It is what keeps me young. I love that I learn something new every day. There’s not many jobs it happens in, so I’m very lucky.”
An ITV special airing on Wednesday night will pay tribute to Lorraine’s remarkable 40-year journey on TV, delving into her career which extends beyond her on-screen presence.
Before becoming a television icon, she honed her skills as a newspaper reporter for five years and continues to be recognised as an accomplished journalist, even though many viewers simply see her engaging in casual sofa chats.
Lorraine Kelly’s first TV appearance (Image: Daily Record)
Born on November 30, 1959, in Glasgow’s tough Gorbals neighbourhood to teenage parents, Lorraine’s family moved to Bridgeton when she was two.
Despite their humble beginnings and sharing a bedroom, her parents instilled in her a love for reading at an early age, reports .
She recalled: “Mum and Dad taught me to read before I went to school. There were always things to read in our house, all different kinds of subject. I always find it weird going into a house where there are no books.”
While at Strathclyde primary school, Lorraine excelled in English and has fond memories of the library across the street that made her “curious about the world”.
She was on track to attend university to study English and Russian when an advert in the East Kilbride News caught her eye: “It said, ‘opportunity for a junior reporter’. Something just clicked. I thought, I won’t stand a chance but I’ll apply. Astonishingly, I got the job. I didn’t really have a plan as such.”
Lorraine Kelly seen in early footage of her presenting on TVAM (Image: ITV)
Lorraine’s mother Anne touched on the sudden career change as she said: “She did that and liked it and that was it, university out the window. She thoroughly enjoyed it.”
The ITV star found it easy to engage with people to gather stories and had her own column, which was so proficient that after five years she left for a job at the as a researcher.
When a superior there told her she was “never going to make it on television” due to her accent, she wasn’t discouraged and applied for a new morning ITV show called TV-am.
Shortly after, Lorraine secured a position as their Scottish correspondent.
Lorraine is celebrating 40 years in television (Image: ITV)
She says: “What I liked about TV-am was the fact they were a bit maverick, because nobody knew whether breakfast television was actually going to work.
“The job was amazing. I got to cover absolutely everything. And I loved the fact that you could kind of be yourself.”
Ever since resuming her television career in 1994, Lorraine has graced the screen with her eponymous show after GMTV and currently GMB.
With her journalistic finesse, she has engaged a plethora of guests, from prime ministers to stars like , always managing to reveal intriguing insights.
Lorraine continues weekdays on ITV from 9am