Good Morning Britain grief choir
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Good Morning Britain fans angry as children’s grief choir is ‘cut off’ mid-song

Producers were called "ruthless" and told they "should be ashamed of themselves"

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Good Morning Britain fans went from teary-eyed emotion to indignant rage in a matter of seconds today.

ITV viewers were moved by the appearance of a children’s choir, made up of young people who have all lost a parent.

But just seconds into their emotional performance, their song was cut short to make way for adverts.

Grief encounter
Grief Encounter sang Jealous of the Angels (Credit: ITV)

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As ads aired for mobile phones and cut-price wine, furious viewers complained about the “ruthless” move.

The “angelic” singers were invited onto the morning show to raise awareness for GMB’s Loneliness Campaign, which asks viewers to pledge money to the cause.

Hosts Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway then introduced the choir Grief Encounter to the stage and announced they would be singing Jealous of the Angels – part of a project with classical superstar Katherine Jenkins.

Grief Encounter
We could watch them all day (Credit: ITV)

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TV viewers were moved to tears by the lyrics, which included the line: “I didn’t know today would be our last, or that I’d have to say goodbye to you so fast.”

But the tears were quickly replaced by fury as the song was faded out to make room for an ad break.

One enraged viewer tweeted: “What is wrong, cutting that gorgeous children’s choir off for some stupid adverts. Have a heart, be ashamed of yourselves.”

https://twitter.com/chelseadianex/status/1070956447041769472

Another added: “Bit ruthless to cut the channel on that kiddy choir.”

A third said: “Come on @GMB how could you cut that beautiful choir off #terrible #sad.”

Many called producers “ruthless”, “disrespectful” and “shameful”, while others called for the choir to be allowed to sing again. This time, until the end of the song.

Grief Encounter performed after former Sky Sports and Blue Peter star Simon Thomas, 45, and his son Ethan came on the show to talk about losing a parent.

The Good Morning Britain hosts did not address the song being cut-short when the live show continued after the ad break.

However, a spokesperson for Good Morning Britain told us: “We loved having the Grief Encounter Children’s Choir on GMB this morning.

“They all left really happy with their performance today and we look forward to welcoming them back on to GMB at a later date.”

Do you agree that the decision was heartless? Or think that’s the nature of telly? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Helen Fear
TV Editor

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