GMB: Susanna Reid weighs in on school absence fines
Susanna Reid returned to Good Morning Britain on Monday morning (2 September) following a lengthy break from the ITV show.
The 53-year-old presenter had been missing from the programme for nearly two months as she took time off to enjoy her summer holidays. Susanna joined Ed Balls as she returned to screens for the first time since July.
During Monday's edition of GMB, the TV duo discussed taking children out of school during term time. If a child misses school without a good reason, local councils and schools can intervene and parents may be issued a fine.
Viewers claimed that Susanna backed the idea that children should always attend school during term time, leading to a flurry of complaints.
One wrote: "So funny, Susanna who can’t manage an attendance rate of 50% shows mock outrage at kids taking a holiday."
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A second weighed in: "As a child, I had multiple holidays during school time because I was in a single-parent household, and my mother couldn't afford to pay the extreme rates. Today I have 2 degrees and work as a Mental Health Professional, so it wasn't as damaging as #GMB are trying to portray."
Another added: "Ffs! How did my generation ever survive? We used to have holidays in term time, no strict uniform, and the general rules were far less strict. How did we manage to survive in the grown up world?"
A fourth disagreed with Susanna, declaring: "Simply untrue about kids missing some days of education impacting their earning potential. How very one size fits all of you."
Hitting out at the presenters, someone else shared: "Such an ignorant view! What about the mass home educated population who go on to thrive! Please do better! You are sharing harmful untrue information to scare parents purely for the benefit of the government."
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On Sunday (September 1), Susanna announced her return to Good Morning Britain. The mum-of-three penned: "ELLO SEPTEMBER! Back to your screens tomorrow (with @edballs) after an incredible summer - looking forward to seeing you all.
After sharing a list of what she has been up to over the summer, Susanna signed off: "Returning tomorrow to OFFICIALLY the BEST NEWS PROGRAMME @GMB thanks to @nationalrealitytvawards."
Viewers were delighted to see Susanna back on screens, with one commenting: "So good to see Susanna back in her chair things should get back to normal now.I have not enjoyed the mix of presenters over the summer but should be a regular viewer again now!"
Another gushed: "Susanna looking gorgeous. So lush to have her back on hosting duties." A third echoed: "Welcome back fabulous and lovely Susanna Reid."