Good Morning Britain viewers were have called out Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of his return to the ITV show on Tuesday for his late appearance.
The PM was due to appear on the programme at 8.15am, but the interview with Susanna Reid was delayed by at least 15 minutes on Tuesday morning.
The interview marked the first time since he and other government ministers were accused of boycotting the series during the coronavirus pandemic.
The GMB TV presenter quizzed the PM on everything from Partygate to allegations in the House of Commons of bullying and sexism, as well as the ongoing cost of living crisis.
But as Richard Madeley and Ranvir Singh spoke with comedian Patrick Kielty earlier than anticipated, GMB viewers took to Twitter to slam the PM for his tardiness, after Richard admitted he was running late.
One wrote: "I think the PM is hoping GMB ends before he turns up for the interview," as another wrote: "So where is the blundering idiot then? He is playing this one knowing the programme finishes at 9am. I predict he turns up at 8.55."
Another asked: "Where is this interview. By the time he shows up there’ll be no time for questions. Ahh.."
Another wrote: "Hmm. So Susanna was meant to be interviewing Boris Johnson at 8.15am today. It's now 8.24am. What a surprise that Boris is late for this live interview."
Another asked: "Is Johnson deliberately late so he can run down the clock n not get asked many uncomfortable questions by."
A fellow GMV viewer wrote: "So, we were told Johnson would be appearing for his “first live interview” on GMB at 8.15am - he’s late, either we’ve been conned (surely not) and it’s all about the hype, or they’re busy rehearsing the PM’s questions/lies/promises. At this rate they’ll run out of time."
Others were left weary by the tardiness given that the interview was conducted in Downing Street, writing: "How can he be so late.. He lives upstairs," as another said: "Boris Johnson was literally 20 minutes late for an interview in his living room. I give up."
While other ministers have appeared on the show since, Johnson had not been interviewed on the show for almost five years - since he was accused on air of hiding in a fridge to avoid a GMB reporter in 2019.
Johnson sat down with Susanna for his first interview on the ITV daytime series since 2017, according to ITV, and the conversation aired live from Downing Street.
Susanna’s co-star Kate Garraway confirmed the news on Monday's episode, revealing: "Speaking of Boris Johnson, we are actually gonna be hearing from him for once tomorrow.
"Susanna Reid is going to Downing Street and their interview will be live on Good Morning Britain tomorrow from 6am, so we will be able to hear exactly what he has to say."
She added: "It's been 1,790 days, nearly five years, since he last spoke to this show."
Former GMB host Piers Morgan, who was on air during the awkward moment the PM appeared to hide from the cameras back in 2019, since reacted to the news he would finally be on the show.
Piers commented on Twitter : "He’s out of the fridge! If you’re doing the rounds Boris Johnson - you know where to find me."
While Piers was on the show, he and Susanna counted daily how long it had been since Tory ministers and Johnson had been on the show.
When Piers left the show last year, many government ministers and MPs began agreeing to return to the series - having clashed on air with the telly host in the past.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
