‘He told me it was offensive and terrible’: Lorraine Kelly claims she was mocked by her BBC Scotland boss over her Glaswegian accent
Lorraine Kelly has claimed a BBC boss once told her that her Glaswegian accent was ‘terrible’ and ‘offensive’ when she put herself forward for a reporter job.
The TV presenter, 60, said she was rejected and mocked for her accent when she landed the correspondent job at BBC Scotland in the 1980s.
Speaking on the Blank podcast, she told how she was criticised by her boss at BBC Scotland for her accent in the 1980s.
Lorraine Kelly has claimed a BBC boss once told her that her Glaswegian accent was ‘terrible’ and ‘offensive’ when she put herself forward for a reporter job
She: ‘I went from East Kilbride News to BBC Scotland for a while – only for a year – and then I joined TV-am as their Scottish correspondent.
‘When I went to work for BBC Scotland as a researcher, I got called into the boss’s office and I thought he was going to give me a job as a reporter, because that’s what I really wanted to do.
‘But he told me my accent was terrible – my accent was offensive, my Glasgow accent.
Speaking on the Blank podcast, she told how she was criticised by her boss at BBC Scotland for her accent in the 1980s (pictured in 1992)
‘So when I got told that, I just applied for a job at TV-am, and luckily the boss was an Australian and didn’t really care how people spoke.’
MailOnline has contacted the BBC for comment.
Lorraine added she is glad that presenters with varying accents are given jobs now. She said: ‘That was BBC Scotland, but that was back then when things were different.
‘Nobody spoke like me or Eamonn [Holmes, Irish TV presenter], or lovely Ant and Dec, nobody spoke like that.
Hurtful: Lorraine said: ‘He told me my accent was terrible – my accent was offensive, my Glasgow accent
‘Everybody spoke a sort of quite affected, posh way… but that’s all changed now, and I think for the better. I definitely do.’
Lorraine married husband Steve Smith in 1992, and they have one daughter, Rosie Smith, who is 26.
The presenter has gone on to have a successful career hosting a number of ITV breakfast TV shows including GMTV, This Morning, Good Morning Britain and now fronts her own daytime stalwart, Lorraine.
Happy: Lorraine married husband Steve Smith in 1992, and they have one daughter, Rosie Smith, who is 26