Good Morning Britain has sparked thousands of complaints to Ofcom after a particularly controversial week for the ITV daytime show.
Monday’s edition of GMB was met with a massive backlash following a discussion with Labour MP Zarah Sultana about the violent riots that have broken out around the UK in recent days.
The segment was heavily criticised online when the show’s resident presenters and commentators clashed with Sultana about the importance of the riots being explicitly described as Islamophobic, rather than simply “racist” or “thuggery”.
That same episode was also met with criticism over the decision to allow former politician and broadcaster Ed Balls to interview home secretary Yvette Cooper about the riots, despite the fact the two are married.
On Wednesday, Ofcom released its weekly report, which revealed that a total of 8,201 complaints had been made by viewers about Good Morning Britain in the last week.
As is standard procedure, these complaints will be assessed by the TV watchdog before they make the decision as to whether to escalate them any further.
ITV previously said it has no problems with Ed Balls continuing to front GMB, even if it does mean he occasionally has to interview his wife about government matters.
“Following a weekend of rioting and national unrest, GMB featured a range of interviews and discussion around this national emergency on today’s programme which included James Cleverly, shadow home secretary, and Yvette Cooper, home secretary,” a spokesperson said on Monday.
“We are satisfied that these interviews were balanced, fair and duly impartial.”
HuffPost UK has contacted Good Morning Britain for comment.
Earlier this year, Ofcom revealed that GMB was responsible for the most complained-about moment in the media regulator’s history, following Piers Morgan’s infamous tirade against Meghan Markle in 2021, which later resulted in him leaving the daytime show altogether.