ITV Good Morning Britain's Charlotte Hawkins snaps at Ed Balls over 'harsh' swipe

Good Morning Britain's Ed Balls found himself on the receiving end of a light-hearted jibe from his colleague Charlotte Hawkins during Wednesday's episode of the ITV morning programme.

The banter ensued as they were chatting about England's chances against the Netherlands in the Euro semi-finals.

Wrapping up her news segment, Charlotte declared: "In case you were wondering how the football is going to go tonight, I have the answer. A group of mystic meerkats have predicted victory for England over the Netherlands."

She then showed the audience footage of meerkats at an East Sussex zoo choosing between two buckets of nuts, each adorned with the respective flags of England and the Netherlands, with the creatures overwhelmingly opting for the English flag. Despite this, co-hosts Susanna and Ed seemed less than convinced by the meerkat forecast, reports the Mirror.

Charlotte continued: "In case you're sceptical about this, Susanna I can see that look on your face. So far, the predictive pack have correctly picked all of England's results.

"I'm putting my faith in the meerkats. It's going to be a win for England," she affirmed. A moment of quiet followed until Susanna cast doubt on whether the bucket for the Netherlands even contained any nuts.

Charlotte urged her not to question the meerkats' wisdom, also mentioning Paul the octopus, another animal known for predicting football outcomes.

Susanna responded: "Mystic animals should not be in news bulletins Charlotte Hawkins!" Both of them chuckled at her remarks while Ed added: "Clutching at straws."

Charlotte, feigning shock, retorted: "Ooh harsh!" Susanna interjected, suggesting that if the meerkats were right, we should embrace it and back the team. She continued: "I don't mean to rain on the meerkat's parade."

The official Good Morning Britain account shared the clip of the animals online, with Charlotte retweeting the post, reinforcing her comments to Ed and Susanna. She posted: "I'm standing by the meerkats - a win for England tonight! ".

England will face off against the Netherlands this evening at 8pm on ITV, following their victory over Switzerland on Saturday. The winner of the match will compete against Spain in Sunday's final.