Lorraine Kelly praises ITV for “valuing the experience” of its staff – regardless of their age

“Experience is really valued at ITV“

Lorraine Kelly has praised ITV for “valuing the experience” of its staff – regardless of their age.  Speaking to former BBC DJ Liz Kershaw in the studio, Lorraine revealed how her skills and experience in her years of work were “prized” by ITV.

Liz, who believes she was sacked from the BBC for being over 60, said she felt the broadcaster was “diverse in everything but age”.

Lorraine said: “That’s really interesting. We’re about the same age, I’m going to be 63 in November. The thing about here and working on Daytime in ITV, experience is really valued. It really is. 

“It doesn’t matter if you’re on air or off air, whether you’re working in production or one of the crew, it’s actually valued and it’s prized, because it’s that thing of amassing loads of experience and being able to share that with everyone.”

Of Liz’s departure, Lorraine said: “This is mad you are in your prime. You’re at the top of your game, you’ve got all this experience you’ve amassed, it’s a great time in your life to be celebrating and it just seems really sad. 

Liz replied: “I’m a walking encyclopaedia. Ever since I’ve been young I’ve soaked it all up – no longer required.”

“You’ve got nearly 20 blokes on the BBC pop music stations aged between 60 and 80, a lot of them pushing 80. How many women have you got? You’ve got two now I’m gone. You’ve got Elaine Paige on a Sunday afternoon playing songs from the musicals and you’ve got Anne Nightingale who somehow – she was the first female DJ I listened to growing up – she’s 82 or something. She records a programme and it’s put out at 2am on a Sunday morning and that’s it.”

A statement from the BBC read:

“All radio schedules evolve and the recent schedule changes will allow us to explore other musical stories. We always discuss changes and our editorial plans with affected presenters. There were no other factors involved in the decisions, and we are proud to have a diverse range of presenters on TV and radio.”

To watch the interview and show in full visit itv.com/hub. Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV & ITV Hub