Good Morning Britain has been forced to come off air between Christmas and the New Year due to growing COVID cases.
MORE: This Morning viewers left confused after show comes off air
ITV has confirmed that the show will take an "extended break" between Wednesday 29 and Friday 31 December 2021 due to the pandemic.
WATCH: Martin Lewis talks the One Million Minutes campaign
In an official statement, ITV wrote: "Due to the pandemic we have introduced some changes from today to protect our team both on and off-screen.
"GMB was due to be on air from Wednesday 29th – Friday 31st December 2021 but due to the pandemic and to protect our teams, we have decided to give them an extended break. GMB will not broadcast next week, but will be back on air on Tuesday 4th January 2022."
MORE: Ranvir Singh confirms new romance – and they met on Strictly
MORE: Good Morning Britain viewers confused by Susanna Reid's absence on show
At the start of the pandemic, the ITV breakfast show managed to remain on air, with some presenters and guests making appearances via video link. This is the first time since March 2020 that previously scheduled shows have been pulled off air.
Charlotte Hawkins and Adil Ray hosted the show on Monday morning
The news comes just a day after GMB presenter Sean Fletcher announced that he had tested positive for COVID. Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Sean wrote: "Had quite a morning. A positive Lateral Flow Test backed up by a positive PCR test. Went downstairs for breakfast and cut my finger with a bread knife. Couldn’t stop it bleeding.
"Patched myself up in time for an appearance on #SundayMorningLive via zoom with #AdrianChiles covering for me, alongside @jacquijosephdesigns, on a programme that also featured my previous co-presenters @sallysmack @nina.wadia and @revkatebottley, as well as @raetheduke @thekingdomchoir @henry.bonsu @drnighatarif among others."
He added: "Thanks for stepping in Adrian. And thanks to everyone for watching this series. See you for another series in the summer."
This isn't the only recent change made to the programme, however, as ITV decided to merge GMB with Lorraine on Monday morning due to rising COVID numbers. Andi Peters stepped in for Ranvir Singh during Lorraine's slot, presenting from the GMB panel, while Charlotte Hawkins and Adil Ray hosted the breakfast news show instead of Susanna Reid, who is on a Christmas break.
Despite the shock changes to the schedule, the Christmas Day special episode will still air from 7am to 9am.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
