Agonising moment Ed Balls FREEZES live on Good Morning Britain

Ed Balls suffered an agonising on-air moment on Good Morning Britain after appearing to 'freeze' while reading the time.

The former Labour minister, 58, was presenting the show with his co-host Susanna Reid, 55, on Tuesday morning when the awkward exchange occurred. 

The pair were wrapping up a segment before an ad break when the camera panned onto Ed, who appeared to falter while reading the time.

He said: 'So it's...' before going blank and staring directly down the camera, causing Susanna to jump in and add: 'It's 8.53, you're watching Good Morning Britain. See you in a moment'. The show then cut to a commercial break.

Although it is not clear whether there were behind-the-scenes technical issues or Ed had simply frozen, the ex-MP has been open about having a speech impediment. 

Last year, the presenter was left close to tears after interviewing inspirational stammer sufferer Jessie Yendle.

Ed has previously discussed his experiences of having a stammer recalling a 'decade-long struggle' with his speech, which saw him famously mocked by David Cameron in the Commons in 2012.

Ms Yendle thank Ed for 'representing the community' saying 'it means the world to us'.

Ed first revealed he had struggled with a stammer in an 2011 article with the Times, revealing he faced a daily battle to deliver his words and had to memorise all his speeches because he could not read a script.

In an attempt to overcome his stammer, Ed said he memorised 15 speeches a week and when he appears to have forgotten his lines, it is just that his voice has frozen.

Ed said at the time: 'You just have to be yourself whatever you do. It doesn't cause me a problem as Secretary of State, although there are times when it is tough.

'The worst thing you can do is try and stop it. That's when you trip up. It happens to me on live TV.

'Some people speak without notes because they think it looks better. Some people do it because they think it leads to a better speech. But I can't read the words out.'

Ed was elected Labour MP for Normanton in the 2005 general election.

He served as Economic Secretary to the Treasury from 2006 to 2007 in Tony Blair's Government.

Under Gordon Brown, he was the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families from 2007 to 2010.

He also took part in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, reaching week 10 of the competition with partner Katya Jones, before losing a dance-off to Rob Rinder and Oksana Platero.

Ed is not the only Good Morning Britain host to face an awkward moment live on air.

Earlier this week, Ranvir Singh suffered a wardrobe malfunction on the show as her dress burst open.

She was joined by Kate Garraway, 58, to co-host the ITV daytime show when the mishap happened shortly after an advert break.

The duo were also joined by the broadcaster's resident entertainment expert Richard Arnold when Ranvir, 48, noticed the buttons on her dress had popped open. 

It left the three presenters in fits of giggles as Ranvir quickly tried to button up her dress, as her co-stars made a series of cheeky jibes towards her.

'Oh, my button has popped undone!' Ranvir said, turning her chair away from the cameras as she noticed the wardrobe malfunction.

Kate cheekily jibed back at her: 'Oh, hello!' as Richard laughed, joking: 'What, in anticipation? Sorry, Ranvir, wrong crowd.'

'You've got to know your audience, Ranvir,' Kate continued, as the cameras quickly panned away from the presenter to give her a moment of privacy.

Ranvir joked off screen: 'Although, everyone at home would have loved it,' to which Richard quipped back: 'I'm sure they would've appreciated it.'

Kate quickly offered a helping hand, holding up a sheet of paper with the headlines across Ranvir's chest, with Richard adding: 'Yes, cover her modesty.'

Buttoning herself back up, Ranvir continued to laugh as Richard went on to present the entertainment segment, before quickly getting her game face back on.

Elsewhere, Susanna hit back at criticism from viewers over the 'cramped' Good Morning Britain studio.

Fans of the breakfast programme took to X, formerly Twitter, to mock the new set up - noting that it appeared Susanna, 55, had to lean back from guests.

She penned after the broadcast: 'New studio = big headlines! More than happy to be closer to our brilliant guests…'

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX from 6am.