BBC bosses have intensified their ratings battle with ITV by recruiting television veteran Penny Smith to their flagship daytime programme, Morning Live. Smith, aged 67, who spent 17 years on the GMTV sofa before being let go during an ITV cost-cutting initiative in 2010, made her return to daytime television today.
Penny Smith's Return to Daytime TV
She presented a special segment examining the difficulties faced by tourists caught up in the European Union's new fingerprint scanning system. The feature was well-received by viewers. Smith was on location in Manchester, speaking with travellers at the airport and meeting a young woman who missed her flight due to the disruption.
During the segment, she tested various substances on her hands—including water, moisturiser, and an alcohol wipe—to see how they affected the fingerprint scanner results. Each substance produced different outcomes.
Industry Reaction
A source commented: 'Penny is immensely talented, experienced, and was greatly loved during her ITV days, so it was a smart move by BBC bosses to bring her onto Morning Live. There is certainly potential for her to appear more frequently in the future.'
Smith's return to daytime television was met with enthusiasm from viewers, who took to social media to express their joy. One viewer wrote: 'Can we please see more of Penny Smith on Morning Live?' while another said: 'Great to see Penny Smith back on TV.'
Career Background
Smith began her career as a reporter and feature writer for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in 1977. She later helped launch Sky News in February 1989, and four years after that, she joined GMTV, where she remained until 4 June 2010. Since then, she has hosted several radio shows, including the weekday breakfast show on BBC London, Talk Radio, and Magic Classical. She has also appeared on programmes such as Have I Got News for You, Just the Two of Us, and Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
Ratings War Intensifies
Morning Live consistently outperforms its ITV rival This Morning, attracting over a million viewers daily. The show is hosted by Helen Skelton and Gethin Jones and airs on weekday mornings from 9:30am to 10:45am. In contrast, This Morning, hosted by Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard since March 2024, airs from 10am to 12:30pm.
The Mail on Sunday first revealed the BBC's plans to launch a rival to This Morning back in 2020, although bosses insisted—perhaps unconvincingly—that the two shows would not be competitors. However, the BBC saw an opportunity when ITV's show faced turmoil following the departures of long-serving hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield in 2023. That same year, the corporation announced it would extend Morning Live's slot from 45 minutes to 75 minutes, a change that took effect just weeks before This Morning's new hosts took their seats in March 2024.
This strategy appears to have paid off, as Morning Live now attracts nearly double the viewership of This Morning. While the BBC show has not completely overtaken its rival, it is a tempting prospect for Morning Live's editor Emma Morris, who previously worked on the ITV show under its long-serving boss Martin Frizell. Morris left ITV in 2019 to take charge of the BBC's The One Show and was later tasked with launching Morning Live.
