Furious GMB fans demand apology as hosts accused of 'anti-Scottish' comments (original) (raw)

Good Morning Britain viewers were left fuming during a debate on Tuesday's live show

Viewers of Good Morning Britain were left fuming during the most recent broadcast of the live programme.

Presenters Susanna Reid and Ed Balls returned to the ITV studio to bring audiences the biggest stories of the day from across Britain and beyond.

They were joined by regular contributors Gillian Keegan and the Mirror's Kevin Maguire. As the programme progressed, the panel turned their attention to the King's decision to sanction a bank holiday in Scotland, giving football supporters the opportunity to enjoy Scotland's opening World Cup fixture.

"A lot of people are outraged this morning [over] the bank holiday in Scotland for their first World Cup opening game. King Charles has approved a new, one-off bank holiday to allow fans to watch the late-night World Cup clash. So, they get next Monday off," Susanna began.

"Now, anyone watching might think, 'Is that because the game is late on a Sunday, or early on a Monday morning?' No!" reports the Mirror.

Ed then said: "This morning, in our five o'clock meeting, Susanna said, 'I can't believe this, the game's on the Sunday morning, and they get bank holiday [more than] 24 hours later.' I said, 'What?' I couldn't believe it. It never occurred to me that that was going on."

The fixture in question sees Scotland take on Haiti at the Gilette Stadium in Boston. The game kicks off at 9pm local time, meaning devoted fans back home will need to stay up until 2am UK time to watch the start of the game.

Susanna shared several contrasting viewer reactions before remarking: "It's really outrageous. I mean, how long does it take Scots to get over the fact that they've played their first match?"

Kevin chimed in: "It's 2am. You can go to bed late Sunday morning and sleep it off!" while Gillian observed: "It sets a terrible precedent."

Ed then questioned: "How hungover do they get?" prompting Susanna to ask: "Is that the unspoken acknowledgement is that it is about alcohol?"

Kevin responded: "Yeah, I think it's going to be shown in thousands of pubs in Scotland at 2am. You can imagine the state of people."

However, the presenters' remarks didn't sit well with viewers, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their discontent.

One viewer wrote: "Very condescending attitude from all the presenters taking part in that debate! Extremely anti Scottish. Not everyone is getting it and not everyone wants it. I don't even like football but thought your comments were uncalled for!"

Another commented: "I thought the presenters also focused heavily on stereotypes, portraying Scots a heavy drinkers. Do better Good Morning Britain. Your presenters owe some of your audience an apology."

A third viewer stated: "The presenters talking about Scots [was] unacceptable. Very condescending attitude, extremely anti Scottish comments. Uncalled for."

One person pointed out: "Not everyone in Scotland gets it either," while another frustrated viewer declared: "It's disappointing that your programme is again taking an anti Scottish view."

**Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am