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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

ITV Lorraine viewers divided as former TOWIE star Arg opens show singing

Lorraine viewers were treated to a different start to the show today. Host Lorraine Kelly was back on her self-titled programme on Thursday (July 21) before she heads off on her summer break. The presenter had already appeared on GMB to tease what was coming up on her programme from outside the ITV studio.

But rather than getting straight stuck into chatting about the latest news and conducting interviews with her guest, those tuning in watched a performance from former The Only Way is Essex star James 'Arg' Argent. He recently appeared on the show, chatting about his weightloss and landing his dream career as an events singer.

At the time, Lorraine asked him to come back with the 'Arg Band' to perform live for them and she was true to her word as he brought along his fellow musicians. He kicked things off with a performance of Bob Marley's track I Want To Make You Sweat. Arg then returned to speak to Lorraine.

READ MORE: ITV addresses Kate Garraway's Good Morning Britain absence after she 'pulls out of show'

"At the moment I’m going to sleep excited for the next day and I’m waking up positive and full of energy," he said as she spoke about how he turned his life around and dropped 14 stone. "I just have to make sure I don’t get too complacent or carried away. And I have to remember where I was before and keep working."

It was then over to Arg to close the show with his rendition of Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl. But it's fair to say Lorraine viewers were divided over the musical interludes.

@Fluffadelic tweeted: "I think I misheard. Arg SINGING. What in the name of Katie Price is going on? #lorraine." @JamesDawson911 commented: "#Lorraine a live performance from arg. DOING WHAT ?: TIME TO CONTINUE with my IDEAL boxset."

Arg was back on the show with his band (ITV)

But @Katiedev said: "Wow, didn’t even recognise @RealJamesArgent then! Looking good. #lorraine." @JanBirch9 added: "What a way to start this morning, you are looking good James (Argent) #lorraine."

Lorraine was back on her show the day after attending the funeral of her friend, cancer campaigner Dame Deborah James. The podcast host and mother-of-two, who became known as Bowelbabe, died last month aged 40 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016. Close friends and family said farewell to her at an intimate private service at St Mary’s Church in Barnes, west London, on Wednesday.

Lorraine spoke about Dame Deborah's funeral (mirror.co.uk)

The mourners included Lorraine, McFly star Tom Fletcher and his podcaster wife Giovanna, and TV presenters Gaby Roslin and Sophie Raworth. Speaking about the funeral on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, 62-year-old Kelly said: “We celebrated the life of a truly incredible person yesterday, our Dame Deborah.

"She is remarkable. It was beautiful, so beautiful, such a celebration of an amazing, amazing woman. There were a lot of tears and there really was genuinely a lot of laughs too, so it was great. She planned it all and it was perfection, as you would expect."

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