Ofcom has confirmed it received complaints about Susanna Reid's interview with Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week. The TV watchdog said it had received 87 complaints, BirminghamLive reports.
The interview, broadcast live from Downing Street on Tuesday, May 3, caused headlines for a number of reasons. The PM asked 'Who's Lorraine' after Reid referenced the ITV Lorraine show which was airing after the interview.
It also later emerged that Mr Johnson had been suffering from food poisoning and had reportedly been sick on himself shortly before the interview was aired. It was his first time on GMB since he fleetingly featured on the show in December 2019 when he walked away from cameras and appeared to hide in an industrial fridge in order to avoid engaging in an interview.
But it was his response to the plight of Elsie that generated the most coverage. The Prime Minister was told the 77-year old has seen her energy bill soar, forcing her to cut down to one meal a day and resort to travelling on buses throughout the day to stay out of her home and keep her bills down.
Former London mayor Mr Johnson said: “The 24-hour freedom bus pass was actually something that I actually introduced.”
The interview was praised by many for holding Mr Johnson to account over issues including Ukraine and his honesty, but others criticised the line of questioning just days ahead of the local elections which were held on Thursday, May 5.
