Susanna Reid hit back at a guest on Good Morning Britain who referred to her as “darling” during a tense debate on Monday’s show.

Susanna and her co-host Ed Balls welcomed Insulate Britain activist Tracey Mallaghan onto the programme to discuss climate protests amid the recent disruption at former chancellor George Osborne’s wedding, which saw a protester throw orange confetti over the newly married couple.

The 52-year-old journalist had asked Tracey to clarify her argument after the activist said that the government was “writing climate denial reports” behind the scenes while telling the public that they were tackling the issue of climate change.

“Come on Ed, you need to do a bit of heavy leaning,” said Tracey, prompting Susanna to ask: “Tell us what happened?”

Tracey responded: “What happened with what, darling?“

Susanna was quick to hit back at Tracey and politely said: “Sorry, you don’t need to call me darling.”

Viewers praised Susanna for her response on Twitter, with one person quoting the ITV broadcaster before dropping a string of flame emojis, while another wrote: “How dare she call @susannareid100 darling uurrrgghhh.”