As Lorraine Kelly looks back on 2026, it is clear that it has been very much a year of two halves. In January, she tragically lost her dad after he had a heart attack, thought to have happened after he slipped on ice near his East Kirkbride home. She admits that she now tries to focus on the “funny” memories they had together.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, her daughter Roise got married to her partner Steve in a glorious ceremony outside of Dunblane. “I disappeared to the loo and to protect my eye make-up, I leaned forward to let the tears fall out of my eyes. Getting control of myself was impossible,” she says.
This year, Lorraine will be raising a glass to her late dad
So Christmas this year for the 66-year-old daytime TV star will be a time of reflection but also celebration - although one thing has changed slightly, those celebrations may not be as alcohol-heavy as they once might have been. “Some people deal with bereavement by not eating, but I ate for comfort. I found solace in chocolate. I was eating too much and, frankly, drinking too much at weekends,” she says.
“In April, I had a good, long look at myself, and I’ve now cut out chocolate and drinking, I swim every day and, since April, I’ve been going to an over-55s gym twice a week. The workouts are all about building muscle, confidence, balance and strength, and it’s made all the difference.”
“Judging by how my clothes fit, I think I’ve lost a stone and a half. I was a size 14, pushing a 16, and I’m now what I call a size 11! Steve’s changed too. In April, when he tried on his kilt, which he wore to our wedding, he couldn’t fasten it. Before, he had a belly with a man at the end of it and now the belly’s gone!”
“Over the years I’ve lost weight then gone down a slippery slope, thinking, ‘One wee bit of chocolate isn’t going to hurt.’ Then suddenly your head’s in the biscuit tin. I’ve worked hard to get rid of this and to get healthy, so I hope this is now me forever.”
Lorraine has dropped to a 'size 11' after ditching biscuits and alcohol
However, she will be allowing herself a Bucks Fizz when she opens presents with husband Steve on Christmas morning, and a glass of champagne as she talks to her friend Joyce on Christmas Day evening.
This year also saw her eponymous ITV show Lorraine cut to just half an hour amid a range of changes from the channel’s daytime offering. While initially upset that she was losing staff and having her airtime cut down, she now thinks of it as a positive move.
“I have the best job in TV. I’m still there, still enjoying it, we’re still doing well and I still give it 100%, but [time off] allows me to do other things, like Lorraine Kelly’s Norwegian Odyssey on Channel 4.
“My show being cut was a blessing in disguise – if I was doing five days a week, 50 weeks a year, I wouldn’t have had those chances. It has opened up so many opportunities – travel shows, writing my third novel, a newspaper column and a podcast – which is great because I can really be unleashed, and I like being unleashed!” Long may it continue.
Lorraine’s Change + Check campaign continues this month, 9.30am weekdays on ITV.
The Island Secret is out now in hardback (£20, Orion), and in February in paperback.
You can read Lorraine's full interview in the December Christmas issue of woman&home magazine - on sale Wednesday 21st October. Subscribe to the magazine for £6 for 6 issues.