"I'm not a part of their plans."
Ranvir Singh opened up about her early career and revealed that she was once left sobbing in a park with her son Tushaan – then a toddler – after being axed by ITV.
The presenter is now one of the channel’s top stars but she was left heartbroken after “giving up everything” and leaving a secure job at the BBC for the channel.
Ranvir appeared on the Sliding Doors podcast and spoke about the difficult time.
She said: “I had a very secure job with the BBC with a pension and everything.
“I got headhunted to go to ITV.
“So I give up this whole secure life at the BBC and my friends and my life in Manchester to move to London, essentially, for a contract.
“It was a two-year contract.
“But I always remember being in the newsroom at the BBC and looking up at the little television and thinking, ‘I want to know what it’s like to be there [on national TV]’.”
But just over a year after her move to ITV, she was told she was surplus to requirements, leaving her worrying about her career and her future.
Ranvir continued: “I’m there, 15 months into the job. The programme gets a whole rebrand and I’m not a part of their plans.
“I found out at 10 o’clock in the morning and by 10:30 am an email had gone out.”
But as she cried in the park with her young son, Ranvir received an important phone call.
Ranvir explained: “There’s me crying in a park with my little son and my phone rings and it’s John Stapleton – a long-term GMTV presenter.
“He told me not to complain, carry on turning up and to do my job.”
Following the phone call, she began emailing the editor of ITV News, Geoff Hill, and things soon changed.
He told Ranvir her career had “plateaued”.
She rejected the idea and stated that her broadcasting career can only go up.
Ranvir soon found herself being offered a Saturday presenting gig.
Less than two months later she was asked to present the News at Ten, before going on to host GMB and stand in for Lorraine Kelly on her self-titled show.
Ranvir Singh’s revelation prompted concern that she had been dismissed from ITV.
This prompted a channel spokesperson to say:
“Ranvir’s comments were in relation to a time early in her career, some 11 years ago, when she first moved to ITV.
“She has continued to work for ITV ever since first joining in 2012, and as viewers will know, is currently a main presenter on ITV formats across the schedule including GMB, Lorraine, ITV News and quiz show which goes into its second series soon.”
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