Lorraine Kelly signs £2.1 million TV deal

Lorraine Kelly has reportedly signed a £2.1 million contract with ITV that will make her one of the best-paid women on British TV.

The 'golden handcuffs' agreement ties Miss Kelly to the broadcaster for the next two and a half years, and will see the 57-year-old star continuing to front her weekday morning show Lorraine.

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It means she'll have been with ITV for 35 years by the time the new contract ends.

According to the Daily Mail, both the BBC and Sky had been planning to make her an offer if she failed to reach an agreement with ITV.

"Lorraine is a mainstay of ITV breakfast and one of its most popular stars, both on and off screen. She basically has complete autonomy at the station and is free to suggest ideas; she has far more editorial control than many other presenters," an insider told the paper.

"Lorraine is a true professional, and so easy to work with. It was basically a no-brainer that she'd be awarded a renewed, improved deal – and certainly, had ITV not made an offer, she'd have been snapped up elsewhere. Everyone at the station is thrilled."

At around £840,000 a year, the contract will make the presenter one of the best-paid women in television - earning less than the £1 million a year Holly Willoughby gets for presenting This Morning, but more than Clare Balding's £500,000 a year.

Glasgow-born Miss Kelly began her ITV career on TV-am in 1989, moving on to Good Morning Britain in 1990, and hosting GMTV from 1994 until 2010. In 2012, she started hosting Daybreak, but left after two years. Celebrity Net Worth estimates that she's worth around £4.7 million.

She's been awarded an OBE for her services to charity and the armed forces - she's a patron of Worldwide Cancer Research and Help for Heroes, and in 2011 took part in the BT Red Nose Desert Trek for Comic Relief, raising £1.375 million.

There are currently calls to put up a statue of Miss Kelly in Dundee, in recognition of her work as an ambassador for the city. But, she says, "I'm not worthy to be beside the legend that is Desperate Dan - has really made me laugh though."