'I’ve always wanted to do it': Lorraine Kelly announces her debut novel will be released next spring

Lorraine Kelly has announced that her debut novel will be published next year. She donned a “read more books” jumper, as she announced her fiction book  in a video on Twitter. The ITV host, 63, from Glasgow, uploaded a minute-long video captioned: “A wee bit of news - been wanting to do this for ages! Tougher but even more enjoyable than I thought. Hope you will like it.”. 

Lorraine revealed that her new book is called ‘The Island Swimmer’ and will be out next spring with a February 2024 release date. She said: “I’ve had such a brilliant time doing this. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do; I’ve always wanted to write fiction, and I just felt like this was the right time.”

Lorraine went into detail about the book’s plot. According to Lorraine, the story is set in Orkney and is about relationships and one woman’s journey. Lorraine’s protagonist has to leave Orkney where she's supported and part of a community. 

The woman moves down south where she's rootless and doesn’t really know how to find herself and must find a way to reconnect with Orkney. The way she does this is through a group that participates in wild water swimming, which is something Lorraine herself participates in. She said: “This is a huge thing that I do, and I wanted to bring my passion for that into the story as well.”

Friends and fans expressed their excitement for her new project. One tweeted: “Congratulations Lorraine, look forward to reading it.” Another added: “Love it and from your description it sounds amazing.”

The book is in partnership with Orion Publishing who posted the same video on Twitter with the caption: “We are thrilled to announce the news that we'll be publishing the debut novel from @reallorraine next February! #TheIslandSwimmer is available now for pre-order from @Waterstones, and we can't wait for you to fall in love.” 

Lorraine’s announcement comes amid feud rumours between This Morning hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield. Despite reports highlighting their strained relationship, they returned to ITV daytime as normal. 

Good Morning Britain, Lorraine and Loose Women did not acknowledge the reports, and Holly and Phil put on a united front for the first show of the week.

Details of Lorraine’s new book, including the full synopsis, can be found on the Waterstones website.