Hundreds of ITV staff walk out

ITV has been forced to draft in an army of freelance workers and pay staff time-and-a-half to cope as strikes hit the network this weekend.

A 36-hour strike by broadcasting workers started this morning in a row unions said will disrupt top programmes.

In a bid to rush through the recording of shows, including Coronation Street and Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, nearly 700 staff were paid extra to work overtime before the stoppage began.

In addition, two editions of the music show Hit Me Baby One More Time are being shot at the BBC's studios, while unions are claiming that Friday's This Morning programme was due to be cancelled, although ITV said it would have been shelved anyway due to the Pope's funeral.

The bill for the strike is likely to run into hundreds of thousands of pounds, although ITV refused to comment.

Members of the Bectu and Amicus unions voted to strike after rejecting a 3.3% pay deal. They are calling for an above-inflation offer and are planning a series of strikes in the hope the company will cave in.

Bectu said staff had already achieved a 2% pay increase due to overtime earned over the past week. A spokeswoman said: 'It's ironic that ITV is arguing about pay but is then paying staff more than they have ever earned anyway.'

Mike Smallwood, national officer at Amicus, said: 'Our members have received overwhelming support from colleagues throughout the industry. This strike is going to have an impact and we hope that this will bring the company back to the table with a sensible pay offer.

'The extent of programme disruption just goes to show the vital work that our members do and the need for their contribution to be fairly rewarded.'

An ITV spokesman said: 'Our entertainment shows will go out as planned on Saturday and we do not foresee a delay in delivering drama serial programming on schedule to ITV.'

Workers will form picket lines outside LWT, Yorkshire TV and Granada studios in London, Leeds and Manchester.

Despite the strike, ITV shares were up ¾p to 128¼p in morning trading.