Lorraine viewers all made the same joke during Wednesday’s show after Kelly presented a live segment on taxes.

The host, 65, had an infamous fight with HMRC back in 2019 which saw her escape a £1.2 million bill because she’s a ‘theatrical artist playing a persona.’

At the time a judge agreed she was not an ITV employee and instead was hired to perform ‘the role of a friendly, chatty and fun personality’.

During the segment, Lorraine was joined by resident expert Claer Barrett ahead of next week’s budget to discuss tax increases.

But viewers found humour in the situation with many claiming the discussion was ‘ironic’ given Lorraine’s past.

Sharing their thoughts on X, they wrote: ‘Maybe #lorraine could do a show on tax avoidance…’

Lorraine viewers all made the same joke during Wednesday’s show after she presented segment on taxes

The host, 65, had an infamous fight with HMRC back in 2019 which saw her escape a £1.2 million bill because she’s a ‘theatrical artist playing a persona’

Others added: ‘Talking about tax on #Lorraine Lorraine’s eyes pretending she’s interested in tax’; ‘Lorraine the tax dodger talking about tax. The irony.’

Lorraine previously addressed her 2019 tax tribunal case, saying: ‘I don’t want people to think I would do anything to get out of paying what I should be paying.’

A judge said the Scottish star was a ‘theatrical artist’ who ‘presents a persona of herself’, agreeing she was not an ITV employee and instead was hired to perform ‘the role of a friendly, chatty and fun personality’.

Lorraine told The Guardian she was happy to address the case ‘because I’ve never got my chance to put my side of the story across’.

She added: ‘I’m a firm believer in the NHS, a firm believer in better education and housing and looking after people who can’t help themselves.

‘I was brought up in a very working-class background where you pay your dues.’

Her on-screen break came in 1984 when she joined TV-am, and since then, she has become a familiar face on the small screen and has presented her hugely popular daily talk show Lorraine since 2010.

She told the paper she could ‘live with’ the mirth prompted by the ruling, which suggested she was essentially playing the role of Lorraine Kelly.

Viewers found humour in the situation with many claiming the discussion was ‘ironic’ given Lorraine’s past

In 2019, a judge said the Scottish star was a ‘theatrical artist’ who ‘presents a persona of herself’, agreeing she was not an ITV employee and instead was hired to perform

The HMRC had argued that Kelly is effectively an ITV employee and should be subject to income tax and National Insurance payments.

But the judge ruled she was hired for her services as an entertainer and was in control of both her working day and her show.

‘We were satisfied that Ms Kelly presents a persona of herself, she presents herself as a brand and that is the brand ITV sought when engaging her,’ the judge said.

When is a person classified as in employment or self-employed?

Here we explain when a person is typically classed as a freelancer or an employee…

A person IS typically classed as employed if…

They have an agreement to provide personal work or services
They turn up to work even if they do not want to
There is work for that person as long as the contract or agreement lasts

A person is typically classed as self-employed if…

They are responsible for the success or failure of their business in regards to profit and loss
They get to chose the hours they work, when they work and how they work
If that person can hire or fire workers
That person is free to work for other companies or take on other work

‘All parts of the show are a performance, the act being to perform the role of a friendly, chatty and fun personality.’

Kelly told The Guardian: ‘Now that I can laugh at. It was, sadly, a bit of a misinterpretation but I knew what (the judge) meant. Obviously, it’s given people great hilarity and I can live with that.’

The dispute hinged on a contract the Scottish star signed with ITV Breakfast in 2012 to present the ‘Daybreak’ and ‘Lorraine’ shows.

She did the deal through her services company, Albatel Limited, but HMRC insisted she in reality became an ITV employee.

At the time, Kelly told Judge Dean she was ‘baffled’ by HMRC’s attitude and denied that tax and national insurance should have been deducted from her income under the PAYE system.

She said she had been ‘freelance’ since 1992 and had since then worked for the BBC, Channel 4, Scottish TV, Sky and ITV, also writing weekly columns for the Sun newspaper.

She considered it an ‘honour and a responsibility’ that she is one of the handful of TV stars whose names are in the titles of their shows.

She can endorse commercial products however she likes, launching a clothing range for JD Williams, acting as a brand ambassador for Avon and appearing in an online advert for furniture company, Wayfair.

Giving an example of her independence, she said she had refused to interview Elton John on a live link from Australia at 4am as she was filming with the BBC later in the day.

Explaining the ‘give and take’ in her relationship with ITV, she said she had been absent from the broadcaster’s morning schedule for four weeks in 2017 when she went on an expedition to Antarctica.