Ben Shephard was quick to defend his co-star's line of questioning during the latest episode of Good Morning Britain. The presenter was back on the ITV news programme on Thursday alongside Ranvir Singh. Ranvir has been hosting Lorraine Kelly's self-titled show but has stepped in for Kate Garraway.
Kate was missing from the show at the end of last week with ITV confirming the 55-year-old would be off for at least a few days but did not confirm the reason for her absence. They added that she'll be back "as soon as possible" with many thinking that would be this week.
Last week, Charlotte confirmed: "Kate’s not here. She’s taking some time out to be with Derek at the moment so we’re sending her lots of love," while Kate's fellow ITV star confirmed her husband was back in hospital amid a setback in his Covid recovery.
But the show pressed on as usual and among the guests was Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries. The MP appeared on the programme via video link from Birmingham ahead of the start of the Commonwealth Games. After discussing the sporting action to come and its importance for the West Midlands and country as whole, the conversation soon moved on.
Ranvir took the opportunity to ask Ms Dorries about the earrings she was wearing. It comes after her comments that Conservative leadership hopeful Liz Truss was wearing "circa £4.50 Claire's Accessories" earrings while criticising Rishi Sunak for wearing expensive clothes.
As Ranvir asked about the cost of the earrings she’s wearing today, Nadine replied: “These were a Christmas present from my granddaughter. She was born in August, so she’s 11 months old, so this was her first Christmas present to her nana, so I’ve no idea how much they cost."
The GMB host then asked Nadine if she felt her comments about Liz’s earrings and Rishi’s suits had backfired to which she replied: "Not at all, in fact those earrings were bought for me by my late husband for our 25th wedding anniversary. So, what it did do is highlight the fact that Rishi was wearing those shoes in one of the most socially deprived areas of the country."
She went on: "It was sending a message that you need to be able to make the right judgement calls to be able to empathise with people to demonstrate you’ve walked in their shoes and understand their lives. I lived the first 25 years of my life on a council estate, so I make no apologies for having got to where I’ve got and wearing the earrings I want to wear. It may surprise you to know I’m not standing for leadership."
Ranvir continued to quiz her guest with further questions on the Tory leadership contest. But Ms Dorries didn't appear impressed and insisted she wanted to talk instead about the Commonwealth Games instead as that is why she was on the programme. "Shall we focus on the Lionesses and the positives over what’s happening over the next five days in the UK," she added.
However, Ben was then heard repeating the MP's name as he tried to cut in, with defence for his co-host and the show: "We’ve been on air since 6 o’clock. We’ve been talking about Birmingham every hour. We are celebrating it and the Lionesses unquestionably. But we only get you for 15 minutes, so I hope you appreciate that we want to talk about the Commonwealth Games.
"We are thrilled they’re going to be in Birmingham and be a great success, but we do also need to ask you about some of the other pressing issues that the political landscape is facing." And GMB viewers were happy with Ben's response.
@domain_harry tweeted: "Nicely handled Ben #gmb." @Swinno1976 said: "Did enjoy seeing Ben Shephard put Nadine Dorries back in her box just now on GMB #GMB."
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