Good Morning Britain star addresses ITV backlash after breaking down in tears live on air

Good Morning Britain star Laura Tobin has defended the decision to fly to a remote Arctic island to report on issues about climate change, despite a backlash on social media.

The star flew to Svalbard, which is nestled midway between Norway and the North Pole, to deliver a poignant report about the impacts of climate change in 2022. The bulletin was aired live and saw Laura break down in tears as she discussed the impact global warming had on polar bears and the glaciers.

She told viewers that Svalbard was warming quicker than anywhere on Earth, and that ice melting would have an impact on the weather back in the United Kingdom. However, viewers criticised the decision to fly to the island, a journey of around 1,800 miles.

READ MORE: BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Pete Wicks accused of 'wishful thinking' after complaint to show judge in car park

The 43-year-old explained how a decision was made to travel to the island on the Mile Fly Club podcast with A Place in the Sun star Laura Hamilton. She explained: “We discussed whether we needed to go.

"I’d spoken to the Met Office scientists, I knew the science, I knew the glaciers were retreating, I knew that the temperatures were rising, I knew what the worst case scenario would be. I was like ‘do we need to go see it, can’t we just report the science from here,’ it was crazy.”

Podcast host Laura asked if the hesitance to fly to the island was down to an “element of guilt”. Meteorologist Laura replied: “Yeah, for two reasons. One, I don’t want to travel unnecessarily if I don’t need to and two, I knew that people would probably whinge and criticise, which they did.

“And I think it was really important to address that and to say we took a tiny crew, we offset our flights, and for the negative footprint on the planet, of which there were carbon emissions.

“It was massively outweighed by the really positive coverage, of so many people messaging saying ‘I would never watch an Arctic documentary but I saw you on Good Morning Britain,’ of people saying they were crying and they were talking to schools wanting to do more and making changes in their lives.”

Laura went on to explain the melting in the Arctic has an impact on the jet streams that control the UK climate. She says her report examined the decline in polar bear population on Svalbard and the impact the change in climate has on reindeer.

She says she felt “pain in her heart” when she saw the “reality of the science” she had researched back home. It prompted her to want to make changes in her own life to protect the planet.

Previously, speaking to Express.co.uk, Laura revealed fellow Good Morning Britain star Susanna Reid had helped deal with the backlash. She said: “Susanna is really supportive.

“When I was in Svalbard, I phoned her and told her what we had seen, the people we had spoken to. We discussed the criticism I received and whether I should mention it [on the show].

“We both agreed because we need to own what we are doing, where we are going and why. The amount of people that watched, who maybe wouldn’t have watched an Arctic documentary, was in the millions.”

The island of Svalbard is home to around 2,500 people. The vast majority reside in Longyearbyen, which is home to the world's most northern pub, restaurant and hotel.