Kate Garraway took the reigns of a new Good Morning Britain instalment this Thursday alongside Adil Ray, as she announced a big change to the programme ahead of the general election

Politics has no place on ITV as Kate Garraway revealed change had occurred on Good Morning Britain.

The presenter was back on the breakfast show alongside Adil Ray as the pair were at the helm of a “politics-free” episode of their programme – a change made to allow viewers to prepare for this Thursday’s General Election.

Kate and Adil both explained why the change had to take place with their election expert Alex Thomas detailing that both radio and TV were affected by the restriction which was imposed by Ofcom.

“You might be wondering why on the day of the election – because it is polling day today, by the way – we’re not actually discussing the issues related to the general election or interviewing the people that have a position on the issues,” Kate first said.

She then went on: “We can’t talk about the issues because we have to follow certain broadcasting rules which means today’s Good Morning Britain is a ‘politics-free zone.'”

Later on, Adil Ray added they were urged to make “no reference to any of the campaigns” during the show, just as polling stations opened all over the UK at 7am.

The change may come as a surprise to several ITV viewers at home as Good Morning Britain presenters have faced a string of political candidates who were campaigning as July 4 neared.

In recent weeks, GMB hosts have focused their attention on various political leaders who agreed to endure their grilling – with the exception of Rishi Sunak who was called out for snubbing the programme. Instead, the prime minister was seen on the set of Loose Women and This Morning.

In late May, Susanna Reid notably took a swing at the PM for avoiding the GMB set. The discussion began after a clip of Rishi Sunak standing outside Downing Street in the pouring rain, while Labour anthem Things Can Only Get Better could be heard in the distance, was played in the studio. Susanna’s co-host Richard Madeley was prompted to point out that, despite Labour protestors trying to get the best of him, the prime minister managed to remain calm.

“He didn’t lose his cool, but I can say, as a voter, I’d quite like to hear an important announcement by the prime minister”, Richard said, prompting Susanna to jump in: “Well, we’d also like to hear from the prime minister. Unfortunately he’s not on our programme this morning, which seems a bit of an error as we want him to connect with voters, don’t you?”

On Wednesday, July 3, however, Sunak’s appearance was overshadowed by a string of awkward moments and a plethora of critical comments over on X, otherwise known as Twitter.

“Aw bless poor Rishi, gearing himself up for a devastating loss tomorrow, pack yer bags hun”, one viewer commented, while another added: “I love that they had Rishi Sunak just sitting in the background while this lady was being interviewed! How awkward did he look!”