Susanna Reid in hot water over Scotland World Cup bank holiday comments on Good Morning Britain - with hundreds of complaints

Published: 21:20, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 21:20, 17 June 2026 Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid has been forced to apologise after her comments about Scotland’s World Cup bank holiday resulted in an avalanche of complaints. Regulator Ofcom confirmed on Wednesday it had received 508 complaints about the episode on June 9. It said they ‘related to comments made during a discussion about the Scottish World Cup Bank Holiday’. Ms Reid and co-presenter Ed Balls chatted about the fact Scots were given an extra day off to celebrate the national side’s return to the football tournament after 28 years. Former MP Mr Balls said: ‘This morning, in our five o’clock meeting, Susanna said, “I can’t believe this, the game’s on the Sunday morning, and they get bank holiday 24 hours later”. ‘I said, “What?”. I couldn’t believe it. It never occurred to me that that was going on.’ Ms Reid replied: ‘It’s really outrageous. I mean, how long does it take Scots to get over the fact that they’ve played their first match?’ The comments went viral on social media with angry Scots branding the discussion ‘poor taste’. Susanna Reid's comments on Scotland’s World Cup bank holiday received 508 complaints   She ate humble pie on Monday – when many north of the Border enjoyed the day off – and said: ‘My Scottish ancestors would be turning in their graves, I can only apologise. ‘Let me say, it’s outrageous that not everyone in Scotland has got today off as a bank holiday.’ ITV also released a statement amid the backlash. It said: ‘The editorial team feel discussion of the fact that some football fans would be drinking alcohol while watching the match is something that would be referenced in the discussion of any home nation’s participation in an international tournament. ‘No slight was intended toward Scottish fans in particular – it was more a reflection of football watching culture in the UK.’ The broadcaster said that many clips shared online were ‘edited’ and did ‘not represent the full four-minute’ chat. It added: ‘Having reviewed the full segments, our feeling is that the issue of drinking and football would have been raised in a discussion of any home nation having an extra day off work following a game. ‘We do note, however, that such discussions can play into national stereotypes. This was not the intention, and in no way was the focus of the discussion.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.