Good Morning Britain has come under fire from viewers after a live broadcast during Storm Eowyn left weather reporter Nick Dixon visibly struggling against ferocious winds and rain.
Dixon, 53, was reporting from the coastal town of Largs in West Scotland on Friday morning, speaking to presenters Kate Garraway, 57, and Adil Ray, 50, about the current red weather warnings.
Millions across the UK have been urged to stay indoors as the storm threatens to bring "potentially life-threatening winds."
Dressed in a blue raincoat with his hood tightly secured, he battled the elements, his words barely audible over the howling wind. The camera captured him being visibly buffeted by the weather, prompting alarm from viewers and the presenters alike.
Garraway exclaimed: "Goodness me, we almost don't need to speak to you because we can see how much you're under pressure from those winds. And the red warning doesn't even arrive until 10am, does it?"
She added: “Are you okay?” to which a breathless Dixon responded: “Yeah, I'm okay.
Follow our live weather update on Storm Eowyn here
“We're relatively safe here and I could do with a coffee right now but the conditions have really intensified in the last hour.”
The journalist continued to struggle to stand as the wind knocked his balance.
The segment sparked outrage online, with fans calling ITV "irresponsible" for putting the reporter in harm's way given the conditions.
Taking to X, one wrote: “The advice is ‘stay indoors’ ‘stay away from waters’ ‘do not travel’ - serious risk to life and that’s why we sent our best people out to report from the worst and most dangerous areas around the country #GMB #StormÉowyn.”
“’Avoid the coast’ the RED weather warning says. #gmb I know... let's put our reporter and crew by the coast. Shocking lack of care for your staff,” another penned.
A third added: “Deadly storm, risk to life and everyone's warned to stay home.. So we'll send our weather reporter out to stand on the coast where he can barely stand up in the wind.”
"This storm is a threat to life."
— Luke Jackson (@baj1983) January 24, 2025
So let's send a reporter to stand 10 yards away from the sea. I'll never understand that. #GMB
'Avoid the coast' the RED weather warning says. #gmb I know...let's put our reporter and crew by the coast. Shocking lack of care for your staff.
— Dobry_nicola (@DobryNicola) January 24, 2025
#gmb absolutely irresponsible reporting this morning. Having any reporter out in a red weather warning areas is ridiculous. Safety first - why are your reporters any different than the rest of the population being told to stay indoors?? #Eowyn
— Lee Anne (@neeps85) January 24, 2025
“#gmb absolutely irresponsible reporting this morning. Having any reporter out in a red weather warning areas is ridiculous. Safety first - why are your reporters any different than the rest of the population being told to stay indoors?? #Eowyn,' a fourth tweeted.
Another remarked: “Red warning - danger to life. Let’s make our reporter stand out in it #GMB.”
Dixon braved the relentless weather on Scotland's coast throughout Friday’s episode of Good Morning Britain, delivering updates on the chaos unleashed by Storm Eowyn.
Opening the programme, he painted a dramatic picture for viewers: "The wind is really picking up here this morning in Scotland. Already gusting over 65 miles per hour, and remember, more than half the country will be impacted by this red weather warning by 10am."
As the storm’s intensity grew, the show’s resident meteorologist Laura Tobin stepped in to underscore the seriousness of the situation, addressing sceptics who might underestimate the danger: "I just want to point out that anybody who thinks it's not that bad, it is just starting. It is just arriving across the west coast of the Republic of Ireland.
“I've got a track of where it's going next. You see how windy it is for Nick Dixon, it is set to get significantly stormier where he and across of the northern half of the UK.”
Storm Eowyn, one of the most severe weather events of the year, has already caused widespread disruption, with warnings of structural damage, travel chaos, and risks to life. The Met Office issued a rare red warning for parts of Scotland, cautioning against all but essential travel.
