November 4th 2024.
Good morning everyone! Did you catch the recent episode of Good Morning Britain? It seems that host Ed Balls had to "sit out" of a segment with his wife, Yvette Cooper, after receiving immense backlash from their previous joint interview. This interview, which took place in August, was conducted alongside co-host Kate Garraway. However, it seems that viewers were not happy with the couple's dynamic, questioning whether their marriage had any impact on the interview.
In fact, the show received a total of 16,783 complaints to Ofcom that day, not only for the interview with Cooper, but also for Balls' comments to Labour MP Zarah Sultana following the UK riots. Many argued that Balls, being married to a cabinet member, would not be able to remain impartial and that it would be a conflict of interest for him to continue hosting the show.
After the uproar from their previous interview, Balls decided to step back from another interview with his wife. As Susanna Reid questioned Cooper alone on the show, Balls announced that he would "sit this one out." Instead, he joined Reid, Andrew Pierce, and Kevin Maguire for the next segment.
Following the complaints, ITV issued a response, stating that they believed the interviews with both Cooper and Sultana were balanced, fair, and impartial. However, viewers continued to question whether Balls could truly remain unbiased while interviewing his own wife.
This is not the first time that Balls and Cooper's marriage has caused controversy on the show. In fact, their previous joint interview sparked over 16,000 complaints. Many viewers accused Balls of giving Cooper an easy interview while being harsh and interrupting Sultana. This led to further calls for Balls to step down from the show due to the conflict of interest.
Balls and Cooper have been married since 1998 and have three children together. However, their careers have often intersected, with Cooper now serving as the Home Secretary. After Balls' defeat in the 2015 election, he stepped back from politics and ventured into presenting, even participating in Strictly Come Dancing. This is Cooper's first time in government in 14 years.
Despite the controversy surrounding their joint interviews, the couple remains a strong team both personally and professionally. In fact, Balls announced his summer break from the show with a sweet photo of him and his wife, stating that he would be back on the show in September. It seems that their love and support for each other will continue to shine through, no matter what challenges they may face. As always, Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1. And if you have a celebrity story, video, or pictures, don't hesitate to reach out to the show's entertainment team. They would love to hear from you!
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