Lorraine Kelly was back on our screens on Tuesday (September 17) morning and it didn’t take long for her to warmly welcome back her colleague back to the show after a lengthy break.
Entertainment correspondent Ross King, aged 62, had been away from the popular ITV breakfast programme while he took some time off during the summer holidays.
Upon his return, Lorraine greeted him with: “Ross is here all morning. Ross we have missed you, how was your holiday?”. The LA-based journalist expressed his delight at being back, responding: “Aw thank you, it’s lovely to see you in the pink.”
He shared details of his vacation, mentioning that he went to Paris for the wedding of a friend, reports the Mirror. He elaborated: “Lucky I headed to Paris to see my old pal David Stewart get married to the lovely Betsey. David is the son of the legendary Allan Stewart, who has just been in the West End and you know him well so it was great to be there. It was great to see the Eiffel Tower.”
Ross also took the opportunity to congratulate Lorraine on becoming a grandmother, following the birth of her daughter Rosie Kelly Smith’s baby. Rosie, 30, and her fiance Steve White named their daughter Billie Kelly Smith-White.
At the time, Lorraine posted a heartfelt message expressing her confidence that they would be the “best parents”. Ross let slip to his co-host about the delightful updates he received, admitting: “What made my trip was I got some lovely pictures from you and Rosie of the baby. Granny. The picture of Billie waving at me made my holiday.”
A humorous moment ensued as a doctored image showed up on screen; it was the iconic Hollywood sign but altered to ‘Billiewood’, prompting Ross to quip: “I don’t know if you know this because obviously I see this sign everyday but look at this the Hollywood sign has changed.”
Lorraine couldn’t contain her mirth, responding with gusto: “As it should be. That’s brilliant, I love that. It’s great to have you back.” A little later, Ross presented Lorraine with a charming present for baby Billie, announcing: “I’ve got a present for you, a little present there for you in the studio.”
Lorraine, caught off-guard yet pleasantly surprised, exclaimed: “Oh but you’ve already given me a present when you turned Hollywood into Billiewood.”
Smiling, she then revealed a baby onesie emblazoned with ‘Billiewood’ from the gift bag. Delighted, Lorraine addressed Ross saying: “Oh gosh this is great. You know what she is so tiny, this will fit her soon. Thank you so much. Thank you, thank you.”
Lorraine airs weekdays on ITV1 at 9am