Morning Show Cut Short for News Update, Sparking Outrage

By Allison Schonter

Viewers of the British morning show This Morning were left outraged last week after the talk show was cut short for a news update. The long-running ITV talk show, hosted by Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield, features a mix of interviews, entertainment news, current affairs discussions and other topics. However, fans tuning in for the latest news and updates on Wednesday, Oct. 27, were left angered when the show ended 15 minutes early.

According to the Mirror, This Morning typically airs until 12:30 p.m. local time, though it ended at 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 27, a change that did not go unnoticed by viewers, many of whom aired their grievances on social media. As the show came to an end, one viewer took to Twitter to write, "my whole work schedule is based around this show finishing at 12:30." Prior to the early ending, some viewers noticed that the Oct. 27 episode seemed to be moving at a faster pace, as the daily Spin to Win competiton was held earlier than usual, with one person asking, "Spin to Win's a bit early isn't it?"

The early end to the show, which would otherwise run until 12:30 p.m. local time, was due to the Autumn Budget 2021 announcement that was made later that day, according to the Mirror. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled his Budget in the House of Commons that same afternoon, with the announcement being broadcast locally, leading to some interruptions to regular TV schedules. The announcement also impacted Loose Women, another ITV British talk show that airs weekdays from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. local time. Some viewers seemed to have forgotten about the budget announcement, with one person tweeting, "oh they've finished early, I forgot about the budget lol," with another person making it clear that they'd prefer to watch This Morning than learn about the budget, tweeting, "the budget can f— off."

This is far from the first time an interruption to the TV schedule has led to some backlash online. In fact, earlier in October, fans of the long-running ABC soap opera General Hospital were left frustrated when the show's official Twitter account announced a new episode would not air due to "ongoing breaking news coverage." Fans, however, noticed that there didn't seem to be any ongoing news coverage, leading to plenty of angry tweets.

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