Susanna Reid: My sight went ‘blurry’ after Ed Balls kicked me in the head

TV presenter Susanna Reid said her eyesight went “blurry for about 20 minutes” after she was kicked in the head by Ed Balls during a segment on ITV1’s Good Morning Britain (GMB).

Reid, 53, and her co-host, former Labour MP Balls, 56, were joined by the Daily Mirror’s political journalist, Kevin Maguire, and Daily Mail political journalist, Andrew Pierce, for a discussion about whether it is ever okay to put your feet on the seat in front of you on an aeroplane.

The group of four sat on aeroplane seats that had been placed in the studio before Balls swung his feet onto Reid’s seat, clipping her head in the process.

He exclaimed: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, are you okay” as Reid braced herself and held her head.

She then said: “I think we’ve decided it’s not okay.”

Maguire, 63, then joked, “I’ve got a good lawyer for you, that could be a personal injury claim.”

Later on the show, Charlotte Hawkins asked presenters Reid and Balls: “How’s Susanna’s head?”

Reid responded: “Probably shouldn’t kick the person in front in the head.

“Honestly. No lasting damage, although my eyesight did go blurry for about 20 minutes.”

A clip of the moment was posted to the programme’s social media page on X with the caption: “You’ve paid for your ticket – whether it’s a plane trip or train ride, why shouldn’t you get comfy?

“But is it ever okay to put your feet on the seat?

“@edballs might have answered that question already.”

Reid has been a presenter on the ITV1 show since 2014 when GMB replaced former show, Daybreak.

Balls is a regular presenter on the breakfast show and also co-hosts a weekly podcast, Political Currency, with former chancellor George Osborne.

GMB is currently without the presenter Kate Garraway, who announced the death of her husband Derek Draper, a former lobbyist turned psychologist and author, on Friday January 5.