Lorraine Kelly addresses ITV retirement rumours after celebrating huge milestone

Lorraine Kelly opened up about her future in television after marking 40 years in showbusiness and becoming a grandmother for the first time, in what she's described as an "amazing" year so far

Lorraine Kelly has revealed that she has no plans to retire, following her recent 40-year career celebration.

In what the presenter has described as "an amazing" year so far, she has released a new book, become a new grandmother to daughter Rosie's newborn Billie, and received BAFTA's highest honours for her outstanding contribution to television.

With her 65th birthday also around the corner, now might seem like a right time to wind down from a busy schedule, however Lorraine has no desire to do so.

She shared: "I've always said if the day comes when I think I don't really want to go to work, I will stop.

"I've never felt that and I don't think I ever will, because every day is different.

"This year has been amazing, but obviously the most wonderful uplifting thing was the birth of Billie, " she added to Hello! Magazine.

Lorraine has been fronting her self-titled ITV show since 2010 following her many years on GMTV.

Earlier this month, a documentary titled Lorraine Kelly: 40 Unforgettable Years gave fans an insight into her successful career and life behind the lens.

In the film, many of the presenter's ITV co-stars paid tribute including Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid and her ex co-star Piers Morgan.

Piers said of Lorraine: "Lorraine is an iron first in a velvet glove. She creates a persona that people think is very benign, very nice, very smiley but underneath it is a proper journalist."

Susanna also hailed Lorraine as "a trailblazer for women" in the hour-long show, while This Morning's Alison Hammond shared: "She definitely has paved the way for other presenters and the likes of me who have different accents."

Speaking about the struggles she's faced along the way, Lorraine said she was told she would "never make it" in TV, due to her working-class Glasgow accent.

Reflecting on that comment, she shared: "It was actually the best thing that could have happened: that comment spurred me to phone the boss of the relatively new breakfast TV station TV- am, who asked me to come down for an interview and then hired me as Scottish correspondent (Bruce Gyngell was Australian so didn't have the same class prejudices reporter!).

She added: "The high cost of living and working now makes it almost impossible for working class kids from the rest of the country to accept a job in London. That has to change. There also needs to be more opportunities outside of London.

"We quite rightly have stressed the importance of diversity in recent years, but that also has to include young working-class people who understand and can relate to the vast majority of our viewers. It is in all of our interests to make sure they have the opportunity to have their voices heard."

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