This Morning was cut short on Tuesday by 20 minutes with fans taking to social media to express their annoyance

This Morning viewers were left fuming after the ITV show was given the chop on Tuesday, March 11 to make room for a major schedule shake-up. The programme, along with four other daytime shows including Loose Women, Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club, Tipping Point, and Lingo, faced cuts to accommodate the Cheltenham Festival coverage.

Despite not being completely booted off the air, This Morning, hosted by Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard, saw its typical slot shrink by 20 minutes.

Normally airing from 10am till 12:30pm, the show wrapped up early at 12:10pm today, shortly followed by ITV’s Lunchtime News ahead of the horse racing event starting at 12:45pm.

This Morning was cut short

Disgruntled fans didn’t hold back on social media platform X, voicing their discontent with remarks such as: “Wait what happened to this morning? And why is the news on?”

Another viewer vented: “F*** the racing! I want to complain and Tweet about daytime TV!” reports Wales Online.

Further disruptions are expected as the Cheltenham Festival continues from Tuesday, March 11, through to Friday, March 14, causing more programming shuffles.

ITV Racing is set to bring viewers The Opening Show, a comprehensive rundown of each day’s events at the festival, airing from 9am until 10am. This means that regular programming, including reruns of the 1980s US drama Magnum P.I. , has been shuffled around to accommodate the British drama Robin of Sherwood.

However, fans of Bradley Walsh and his team of chasers can rest easy as The Chase will continue in its usual weekday slot without any changes. It’s expected that ITV’s broadcasting schedule will revert back to its standard format after the Cheltenham run this week, with the regular TV lineup set to return on Monday, March 17.

Loose Women has been dropped(Image: ITV)

The four-day festival kicks off on Tuesday with Champion Day, featuring the Supreme Novices’ taking on the Champion Hurdle. Day two brings the glamour with the famous fashion and style awards, also known as Ladies Day, which pays tribute to the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

This is followed by St. Patrick’s Thursday, hosting races such as the Ryanair Chase and the Stayers’ Hurdle.

The festival concludes with Gold Cup Day, where the coveted Cheltenham Gold Cup is awarded, one of the most prestigious prizes in the racing industry.