Beloved ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly faces a dilemma over her once-popular morning show. It has seen a recent drop in viewing figures just as the 67-year-old's contract is due to end later this year - and there is no sign whether or not it will be extended. Lorraine's ITV show now risks being axed completely after being slashed to airing just half of the year instead of every week.

This all comes after last year's announcement that the number of weeks Lorraine and Loose Women were screened each year would be cut from 52 to 30. A TV insider said, "Not having these shows on air has been something of a test of their popularity, and ITV bosses have been closely watching the viewing figures."

As a result, Good Morning Britain has just extended into the timeslot occupied by Lorraine, and it hasn't suddenly seen the number of viewers drop off.

In the last week that Lorraine aired on ITV, the show's peak number of viewers hit an average of 627,000 a day, compared to Good Morning Britain's average of 760,000 viewers that week.

The following week, when Lorraine was off air, GMB's ratings hardly dipped at all at 717,000 viewers, despite the fact the show had extended into Lorraine's timeslot.

Lorraine previously shared presenting responsibilities on her programme with numerous others, including Loose Women star Christine, as well as Ranvir Singh, who used to assume control on a regular basis.

A spokesperson for ITV said: "As we shared last year, both Lorraine and Loose Women now air seasonally throughout the year, and there are no plans to change this.

"We are incredibly proud of both programmes at ITV and all they continue to achieve - the BAFTA-nominated Lorraine and the RTS award-winning Loose Women.

"They are a much-loved part of our ITV Daytime family, and we can't wait to have them both back on screen in the next couple of weeks."