During Monday’s live broadcast (February 23) of Good Morning Britain, personal finance expert Martin Lewis abruptly interrupted Kemi Badenoch's interview with Susanna Reid and Ed Balls. The Conservative leader was on the ITV breakfast programme to defend her party’s plans to cut interest rates for some student loans. But her statements were suddenly halted when Martin marched onto the set to unexpectedly announce that he disagreed with the politician. 

It was when Ed challenged the Party leader on whether the Tory plan would only help former students in the highest-paying jobs. When Badenoch insisted this was not the case, Martin began shouting off camera before walking into the shot and eventually ending up sitting on the sofa. Following a mixed reaction from viewers, the financial journalist issued an apology on social media.

In his open letter, Martin penned: “Dear @KemiBadenoch, apologies for gate-crashing your @GMB interview today. Student loans are so life-impacting that I wanted to ensure the key point was made - that financially, if not psychologically, the repayment threshold is a bigger issue than the interest.”

Alongside a link further explaining his reasons, Martin added: “Thank you for being so courteous after the interruption - you handled it far better than I would have the other way round. I have asked my office to request a meeting, if you are available, to discuss this more calmly.”

The post sparked a huge mixed reaction, as one viewer fumed: "I think you were quite rude and condescending to her. She was trying to bring a solution to the table, but you and Ed got on your high horses and ganged up on her!"

Another echoed: "Very disappointing to witness this. I get you feel passionate, but you and Ed went about it the wrong way; it was very uncomfortable to watch." Meanwhile, another applauded the TV star and commented: "You deserve a medal for some of the causes you champion..... what a superstar!"

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As another agreed: "I’m sorry, but she is the leader of the Conservatives who are responsible for this. She absolutely does not deserve an easy go on this. Where is the acknowledgement that it was her party that is to blame for this? After that, her work to solve it would actually be seen as sincere

Ms Badenoch was among the viewers who shared their reactions in his comments and agreed to meet the ITV presenter. She responded: “Hi @MartinSLewis, thank you. I really appreciate that, and honestly, don’t worry. I do love a feisty debate! It helps people understand what the real issues are. You and I agree on the principle: student loans have become a scam.”

The politician continued: “It took me eight years to pay mine off. I made my last payment in 2011, and I remember how happy I was, and my debt was only £14,000. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a young person with £40,000 debt today.

“Whatever the Coalition government brought in back in 2012, it’s clearly not working for the world of 2026. So I’d genuinely love to come on your show and debate my plan vs yours.”

Ms Bandenoch went on: “I’m putting student loans on the political agenda because we’ve got to do more for young people. It’s just one part of our New Deal for Young People.

“As the opposition, Conservatives may not be able to change the law right now, certainly not without cross-party support, but we can set the agenda, especially while the government seems distracted by all sorts of other things.

“In the meantime, I’ll keep doing my job: setting out practical solutions and showing how we can make life in this country better, especially for young people. Looking forward to seeing you soon.”