BBC Breakfast stars announce devastating news minutes in 'we're in a difficult situation'

BBC Breakfast stars announced devastating news just minutes into Wednesday's (October 15) show.

During today's edition of the hit BBC programme, hosts Sally Nugent and Roger Johnson updated viewers on the latest news from across the UK and around the world.

They were joined in the studio by John Watson, who presented the sports segment, while Carol Kirkwood and Emma Vardy delivered regular weather and business updates, respectively.

At the start of the show, Sally announced that the amount of money customers owe to energy companies has hit an eight-year high.

Households are starting the winter owing £780 million to their energy suppliers, the highest debt levels in eight years, a survey for Uswitch found.

"It brings the total energy debt to more than £4 billion," Roger continued, before handing over to BBC correspondent Aruna Iyengar.

In the clip, Aruna explained: "Customers are being warned to get ready for higher bills this winter. Many of us pay a fixed amount each month, which is higher than our actual usage in the summer to build up credit to cover higher energy bills in the winter.

"But Uswitch says because of the high energy prices, many households are already in debt before the winter's even started."

Richard Neudegg, Director of Regulation at Uswitch, added: "There have been a number of support schemes that have been in place for consumers, some of those have come to an end.

"But also, we're compounding year on year on a difficult situation when it comes to the cost of bills. So, again, we're in a slightly more difficult situation than we have been previously as those customers in debt are rising and the level of debt is also increasing as well."

Aruna went on to reveal that around 3.5 million households owe money to their provider, up 46% from 2.4 million last year. More than one in ten of those in debt to their supplier say they can't afford to pay it off.

The current average household debt figure of £223 is 29% higher than last year's £173.

The reporter went on: "Energy prices are at historically high levels, and they're still going higher. It's due to global gas price spikes and the UK's ban on Russian energy amid the conflict in Ukraine.

"Households facing problems with their energy bills are urged to contact their energy providers. They can provide tailored repayment plans, stopping customers from falling further behind."

BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am