Lorraine Kelly was told she would 'never make it in TV' because of her accent

Lorraine Kelly has been the face of breakfast TV for 37 years; however, it could have all been very different if she hadn’t been insulted by the Head of BBC Scotland.

Speaking on White Wine Question Time, Kelly recalled that at the beginning of her career in TV, she was told she would never amount to much due to her broad accent.

“When I worked at BBC Scotland, the head of BBC Scotland said I'd never make it because of my accent, because I had a Glasgow accent,” she told podcast host Kate Thornton.

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She continued: "That was the best thing he could ever have done because the next day, there was a job going at TV-AM as a reporter in Scotland — and I would never have had the nerve to apply for that job — but I just thought I'm going to have to do something because I'm never going to get to be a reporter if I stay here."

From October 1984, Kelly was the Scotland Correspondent for ITV’s flagship breakfast show. As she was the only one, it meant that her job was extremely varied, something which she relished.

"I went to a place where I was the only one," she explained.

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"I would be doing sport, you know, back in the early 80s when women really didn't do football or rugby or any sports. And I was the political correspondent because it was only me."

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While Kelly enjoyed the freedom her role gave her, it didn’t come without some downsides, especially concerning other people’s attitudes towards her.

"I would turn up and interview a football manager - and that was unheard of - and I got really patronised by most of the people in the football world," she said.

"Actually, it was okay, because I found that they were disarmed by you and you could ask them anything and they'd be so taken aback, that they would give you a great answer."

After impressing bosses with her coverage of the Lockerbie disaster in 1989, Kelly was promoted to the main programme and became a presenter of Good Morning Britain, alongside Mike Morris.

She then went on to launch GM-TV a couple of years later, eventually bagging her own self-titled slot, where she’s been ever since.

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While she’s loved her 37 years on the job, Kelly is now dipping her toe into other avenues, including a podcast with daughter Rosie. Entitled What If?, the pair quiz celebrities about those sliding door moments in their life. For Kelly, it’s been a revelation.

"It's been such a joy to do," she said.

"It's been lovely for me to actually be able to talk to people for longer than 5,6,7 minutes, that's been the joy of it and also obviously doing it with Rosie’s been a lovely thing."

The podcast has just finished its first series, but Kelly promises a second one is on the way - and she’s got a certain special guest lined up that she cannot wait to talk to.

"We will be actually talking to KSI, because I love him," she told Thornton about the YouTube star.

"And he's just a cutie pie, he is just gorgeous. He's just really just a nice fella — I like him a lot."

Hear Lorraine and Rosie talk about what it’s really like being on Gogglebox in the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on Apple Podcast and Spotify.

WATCH: Lorraine Kelly was told she'd never be on TV!