Good Morning Britain presenter Ed Balls faced heavy criticism after viewers claimed he was being “biased” during a discussion about Labour’s rumoured leadership challenge. Last week, former Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, became the new MP for Makerfield in the historic by-election. The Prime Minister is expected to face a leadership challenge by the new MP, who topped the ballot some 20 per cent ahead of Reform UK.

Discussing the impact of the recent changes on Monday’s instalment (June 22) of the ITV morning show, Susanna Reid hinted that her co-host may know more than he is letting on. She began: “It’s so dramatic. Of course, you know someone very senior in the cabinet, but you wouldn’t divulge personal conversations, and I don’t know how many you’ve had.”

Ed remained silent, simply nodding in agreement as Susanna went on to add Labour minister Jacqui Smith will be joining them later on in the program, but that the politician has already hinted that Starmer’s days in No. 10 are numbered. Susanna explained: “It’s going to be Jacqui Smith doing the morning rounds for breakfast telly today, but she’s already warned that Sir Keir Starmer could be announcing his resignation.

“She admitted on another morning show that ‘I would have been happy for him to continue’, so hopefully she can confirm that for us later on in the show. But you do believe that it’s true, Ed.” Her co-host insisted: “It’s true, of course it’s true. The newspapers would not be covering it, and the BBC and ITV would not be covering it without any comment from Downing Street.”

Despite the alarming update, viewers couldn’t help but accuse the 59-year-old broadcaster of bias because of his previous role as a Labour politician and his marriage to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. One user penned: “Mr Balls, the Cooper bird, should resign too, like Ed presenting this show,” as another asked: “Are we asking Ed what his Mrs thinks or are we just glossing over that?”

A third pointed out MR Balls’ fury when Green Party leader Zack Polanski called out his reported bias in a heated live interview. Back in April, the 43-year-old politician complained about being interviewed by Balls due to his political ties. He branded the broadcaster a “Labour politician” and insinuated that his interview was biased, sparking fury from the host.

The party leader later reshared a post claiming Balls came across as a “classroom bully” during the heated interview. However, a GMB spokesperson refuted all claims of a possible bias from the presenter, insisting: “Ed Balls remains a valued member of our presenting team. Any suggestions otherwise are categorically untrue.”

It comes after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper declared Good Morning Britain was her morning show of choice in an awkward breakfast show interview last week. Cooper awkwardly giggled: “I’m going to have to say GMB, because otherwise I would be in real trouble when I get home.”

Her husband later described her response as a “bit grudging” as his colleagues laughed heartily at the clip. The couple previously faced significant backlash and over 8,000 Ofcom complaints after an interview regarding the 2024 riots.