Ed Balls' 'shocking' clash with Zack Polanski sparks Ofcom fury as GMB bosses 'face pressure to sack host'
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Good Morning Britain has been hit with a slew of Ofcom complaints after its host Ed Balls clashed with Zack Polanski on the show.
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The presenter, 59, argued with Green Party leader Zack Polanski during Monday’s broadcast of the ITV breakfast show.
Mr Polanski, 43, complained about being interviewed by Balls - who is a former Labour shadow chancellor and is married to the foreign secretary Yvette Cooper.
Balls took issue with Polanski calling him a “Labour politician” and accusing him of bias in an exchange that became increasingly strained.
Viewers at home weren’t happy with the interview and took to the broadcasting watchdog to share their grievances.
Ofcom received 85 complaints over Monday’s episode relating to “an interview with Zack Polanski which complainants alleged was biased”, reported The Sun.
After the interview, sources claimed ITV bosses were facing mounting pressure to sack Balls.
An insider told The Sun: “It’s an easy win for politicians on the show to give the impression Ed is being bias towards them because of who he’s married to.
“Ed knows this, but lost his cool yesterday. There have been whispers behind the scenes about how it makes the programme look, but that’s been going on since he interviewed his own wife.
“It’s clear there is growing pressure to distance Ed from the show but bosses keep backing him. They hope the backlash from yesterday calms down.”
A GMB spokesperson refuted the claims, telling Evening Standard: "Ed Balls remains a valued member of our presenting team. Any suggestions otherwise are categorically untrue."
Evening Standard has contacted a representative for Balls for comment.
Balls and Mr Polanski clashed when the Green leader brought up Balls’ ties to the Labour party while being asked about the Green party’s plans to abolish borders.
He said: “Do you know what I’m enjoying? The fact that a Labour politician who’s married to a senior Labour minister is allowed to ask questions of a leader of a Green Party.”
“Are you accusing me of being a Labour politician?” Balls asked.
Polanski replied: “I’m accusing you… Well, it’s not even an accusation. We are planning to replace the Labour Party and take the fight to Reform, but what you’re asking me right now…”
Balls interrupted: “You said I was a Labour politician. Did you mean that or not?
“I haven’t been a Labour minister for 20 years. Unfortunately, Mr Polanski, I lost my seat in 2015 and I’ve not been a Labour politician for 10 years.
“Luckily, you’re a Green politician, you are the party leader and you seem to be using a rather elaborate device of making accusations against me to avoid answering the questions.”
Later, Mr Polankski refused to answer questions about his former job as a hypnotherapist.
He said: “Your audience will notice that I’m talking about taxing multimillionaires and billionaires, taking wealth away from powerful people and putting it back in our communities, and GMB, 10 days before a local election, rather than asking me about our policies… you want to just do shock-jock tactics.”
Balls interrupted: “Hang on a sec, Mr Polanski. You accused me of being a Labour cabinet minister 16 years ago.
“And when Susanna [Reid] asked you about something you said 10 years ago, you said it’s illegitimate to ask about things you stood for 10 years ago.
“The double standard is a bit shocking.”
Mr Polanski replied: “Two of those things are not the same.
“Someone pretending to be a journalist who’s interrogating the leader of a political party, having a very strong association with a Labour government who are currently in power, is very different to asking me about a story when I wasn’t a politician 13 years ago.”
Balls came under fire in 2024 for interviewing his own wife Cooper on GMB. He has been married to the UK’s Foreign Secretary since 1998.