Good Morning Britain fans have criticised presenter Ed Balls for his interviewing style during a spat with former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday morning.
Fans branded the 57-year-old GMB presenter the “grocery store Piers Morgan” following his “car crash” interview, claiming he constantly interrupted the politician.
The conversation came after Chancellor Rachel Reeves accused Jeremy of “lying” about the public finances under a Tory “cover-up”.
He said there was a “£22bn black hole” that the Labour government now had to fix.
During the chat, viewers criticised the host for not allowing Jeremy to speak and answer questions put to him by Ed and co-star Ranvir Singh.
Good Morning Britain fans have criticised presenter Ed Balls, 57 (pictured) for his interview style during a row with former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday morning.
Fans branded the GMB presenter “grocery store Piers Morgan” after his “car crash” interview, claiming he constantly interrupted the politician (Piers, 59, pictured in 2020)
Some fans even begged ITV bosses to “sack” him after he attempted to imitate the former GMB presenter, 59.
As for X, viewers wrote: “You have to wonder how long Ed Balls can stay on the show. Is he impartial?”
‘Jeremy Hunt was not allowed to say a word, but RR was allowed to continue,’
“Ed Balls, you are a rude and insolent man, interrupting Jeremy Hunt, who does not like to hear the truth. I would ask you to talk some sense into your wife, but you are not right.”
‘Interview with Jeremy Hunt, let him speak’,
‘Ed Balls becomes the ‘Piers Morgan of the grocery store’ in Jeremy Hunt’s #GMB’.
This comes after Ed and Gareth Gates sat down for a candid and emotional interview today in which they discussed their personal battles with speech impediments.
The former Labour shadow chancellor of the exchequer said he still sometimes struggles to get the words out while presenting a live TV show, but his GMB co-presenter Susanna Reid knows she has to give him the time he needs.
The conversation came after Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves accused Jeremy of “lying” about the public finances under a Tory “cover-up”. She claimed there was a “£22bn black hole” that the Labour government now has to clean up.
Some fans even begged ITV bosses to ‘sack’ him after he attempted to imitate former GMB presenter (Jeremy Hunt pictured right).
During the chat, viewers criticised the host for not allowing Jeremy to speak and answer questions put to him by Ed and co-star Ranvir Singh.
Gates also described how he dealt with a speech impediment and how he was inspired to try acting after learning that Mr. Bean star Rowan Atkinson also stutters.
The Pop Idol winner was interviewed by Balls about his speech impediment during a previous appearance on GMB last year, in which the former Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families became emotional as he recalled his childhood battle.
“You inspired me. I thought, ‘If Gareth Gates can do this, I can do this. And if he can be public, I can be public. It was very difficult, but I did it because you showed me how to do it,'” Balls told him during the chat in November 2023.
Gates has often spoken about his struggles with his speech impediment and said today that he was shocked when he discovered Atkinson faced the same challenge.
She told GMB: ‘I met the amazing Rowan Atkinson and he introduced himself and I could instantly see he had a very severe stutter.
“I was very surprised, he’s a very well-known actor. We sat down and I talked to him for hours, obviously, because we can’t talk.
“He inspired me to act and after meeting him I did a lot of shows in the West End, learning scripts and dialogues. Now I can speak on stage thanks to him, so we inspire each other.”
The 2023 discussion of stuttering struck a chord with Balls, who began to cry.
Susannah Reid told her co-host: “There’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s something to be proud of, it’s part of your identity, isn’t it? (Gareth) paved the way for you, didn’t he, Ed? There you go, Gareth, that’s what you did.
Gates added: “You’re now a role model for me! That you do this is really amazing.”
“I’ve shown people that you can have a grief and not let it dictate who you are. You can achieve anything you want in life. You just have to be strong.
“My speaking ability is massively affected if I’m tired, stressed or under pressure. That’s the nature of the show (Celebrity SAS) – pushing you to the limit. It was tough. I’m much more confident now. I learned a lot from the show.”