Piers Morgan updates – live: Alex Beresford speaks out after GMB presenter steps down

Morgan stepped down from the ITV daytime show after six years

Piers Morgan's most controversial moments on Good Morning Britain

It’s been a hectic 24 hours, with Piers Morgan quitting ITV’s Good Morning Britain shortly after he stormed off the set amid a clash over Meghan Markle.

On Tuesday evening (9 March), ITV announced that Morgan was stepping down as anchor of the morning show after six years.

The presenter’s departure came after both he and ITV attracted widespread criticism over comments he made about the Duchess of Sussex following her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, including that he “didn’t believe a word” she said about having suicidal thoughts during her time as a senior royal.

GMB’s Alex Beresford, with whom Morgan had a heated debate with during Tuesday’s show (9 March) prior to the announcement of his exit that evening, has said that “Piers’ departure sincerely wasn’t the conclusion I was hoping for”.

The weatherman added: “I didn’t want him to quit, but I did want him to listen.”

Morgan’s exit has prompted a mixed reaction from viewers with many people celebrating the presenter’s departure. However, an online petition urging ITV to reinstate Morgan in his position as co-anchor of GMB has reached over 22,000 signatures in just two days.

Sharon Osbourne has also spoken out in support of Morgan. During an appearance onThis Show yesterday (10 March), the former X-Factor judge tearfully defended the controversial presenter.

Others celebrities, however, have welcomed the news. Chelsea Handler recently shared a clip from a 2014 interview with Morgan, in which the pair engage in a heated conversation. The American comedian captioned it: “Some a**holes get better, some just stay the same.”

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom received more than 41,000 complaints after Morgan claimed he did not believe that Markle had suffered from suicidal thoughts after being overwhelmed by press scrutiny into her personal life. ITV was also widely criticised for “allowing” Morgan to air these views while running their Britain Get Talking mental health campaign.

Following the backlash, Morgan later said he wanted to “clarify his position on mental health”. He added that his “disbelief” was over her claims that “she went to a senior member of the royal household, told them she was suicidal and was told she could not have any help because it would be a bad look for the family”.

Yesterday morning (10 March), GMB returned to screens without Morgan in his usual seat for the first time. Speaking about his decision, the 55-year-old revealed he is “in talks” regarding his presenting future, adding: “I’ll be back”.

You can relive all of the dramatic moments from the last 24 hours below, as well as some of the major talking points so far.

• Susanna Reid addresses Piers Morgan’s exit for the first time live on GMB
• ‘Your tears are weapons’: Sharon Osbourne criticised for tearful defence of Piers Morgan on The Talk
• Chelsea Handler calls out Piers Morgan in resurfaced video: ‘Some a**holes stay the same’
• ITV lost £300m in market value after Piers Morgan’s departure from GMB

Key Points

• Piers Morgan reportedly ‘in talks with people’ regarding his future, tells Meghan Markle to ‘stop trashing the royal family'
• ITV has lost more than £300m in market value following Morgan’s exit
• Markle’s close friend says there are ‘many texts and emails to support’ Markle’s statements about her mental health
• Resurfaced video sees Morgan claim he was ‘ghosted’ by Markle
• Petition to ‘bring back Piers Morgan’ reaches over 22,000 signatures in two days
• Alex Beresford says ‘Piers’ departure sincerely was not the conclusion I was hoping for'

[10 March 2021 17:23 · Joe Middleton]

Health minister condemns ‘wholly unacceptable’ comments by Morgan

Wales’ health minister has condemned comments made by Piers Morgan about Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah as “wholly unacceptable”.

Vaughan Gething was asked about Morgan’s comments during the Welsh Government’s coronavirus press conference in Cardiff on Wednesday afternoon, where he said: “I thought Piers Morgan’s comments about not believing what Meghan Markle had to say about her mental health was wholly unacceptable, incredibly unkind and exactly where we should not be in public debate and discourse.”

He added: “We’ve won lots of ground by talking and being more open about mental health challenges, not just in Wales but across the UK.”

[10 March 2021 17:37 · Joe Middleton]

Getting angry with Piers Morgan is like getting angry with Borat - Tom Peck

The Independent’s Tom Peck has written that looking forward to Piers Morgan’s stock falling after his controversial comments about Meghan Markle “are highly likely to be disappointed.”

He adds that getting upset with the presenter is “like getting angry with Borat” and makes the point that the two new channels soon to launch in the UK may soon be making a call to Morgan’s agent.

[10 March 2021 17:53 · Joe Middleton]

Piers Morgan's most controversial moments on Good Morning Britain

[10 March 2021 18:08 · Joe Middleton]

US journalist defends ‘boundary pushing’ Morgan

US journalist Megyn Kelly has told the BBC that Piers Morgan “should be allowed to express his opinion”, after the controversial presenter left GMB after controversial comments about Meghan Markle.

She said: “I think we need more people who are willing to push boundaries, not less, on the air. And we are really cracking down on free speech in a way I find really alarming.

“And I don’t have to agree with everything that Piers says, I just have to support his right to say how he actually feels, and if people get offended that’s ok.”

[10 March 2021 18:40 · Joe Middleton]

Andrew Neil ‘wants to talk’ to Piers Morgan about a role on GB News

Andrew Neil said he wants to talk to Piers Morgan about a role on GB News after the controversial presenter left GMB amid a row over his comments about the Duchess of Sussex.

The former BBC presenter who now chairs the upcoming news channel told BBC Radio 4’s PM: “I think Piers Morgan would be a great asset to GB News and we’ll certainly talk to him about it.

“I think he needs a little period of quiet reflection before anything happens. And I wouldn’t simply transfer what he did at GMB straight to GB News, I think we’d probably want to do something a bit different.”

Mr Neil said he does not want “any shouting, or ranting, or raving” on the channel but that Mr Morgan’s many controversies helped ITV’s ratings challenge those of BBC Breakfast.

“I think he was also hard to control and I think that ITV felt he had just crossed the line and it was time to part company, and I understand that, which is why as I say we’d love to talk to Piers about this but I think we’d want to do things in a bit of a different way,” Mr Neil added.

PA

[10 March 2021 18:53 · Joe Middleton]

Morgan’s departure from ITV ‘a pity’ says Andrew Neil

In further comments to the BBC today Andrew Neil said that Morgan’s departure was “a pity” for ITV because he had brought “energy, dynamism and controversy” to its morning broadcast schedule.

He added: “It had always lagged way behind the BBC breakfast time show and people tuned in because of him.

“It reminded me of the old days of Newsnight. People tuned in if Jeremy Paxman was doing it. If he wasn’t doing it it wasn’t so exciting and the same is true of GMB.

“It’s a real problem now for ITV that they’ve lost him. The programme this morning was much more run of the mill, low key, kind of ordinary, so it’s going to be difficult for them to replace him.”

[10 March 2021 19:20 · Vincent Wood]

Petition to return Piers to ITV exceeds 5,000 signatures

A petition urging ITV to Piers Morgan to GMB has recieved more than 5,000 signatures in less than a day.

“How ITV have treated Piers Morgan after he saved one of their failing shows is appalling”, the petition reads. “They have thrown him under the bus and allowed him to be bullied by a colleague on air.  Piers has turned the show into the most talked about show on ITV. He was the only person who spoke on behalf of viewers during the pandemic and now he’s been bullied by the snowflakes all for speaking the truth.”

It’s a call that’s unlikely to be answered - with Morgan saying he is in “temporary hibernation” and offers flying in from the likes of GB News.

[10 March 2021 19:58 · Vincent Wood]

Piers Morgan: Who could replace the presenter on Good Morning Britain?

So with Piers stepping away, who could replace him?

Here’s Ellie Harrison:

[10 March 2021 20:34 · Vincent Wood]

Stephen Colbert celebrates Piers Morgan’s departure from GMB: ‘It’s going to be a great morning, Britain’

Stephen Colbert celebrated Piers Morgan’s departure from Good Morning Britain, predicting a “great morning” for Britain without the host.

More below:

[10 March 2021 21:39 · Vincent Wood]

CNN’s Jake Tapper rebuked on Twitter after claiming regulator probing Piers Morgan’s comments was ‘insanity’

CNN anchor Jake Tapper poked a transatlantic hornet’s nest when he said it was “insanity” that UK broadcast regulator Ofcom was looking into a recent episode of ITV’s “Good Morning Britain,” where presenter Piers Morgan generated a storm of complaints after making controversial comments about Meghan Markle and her recently disclosed struggles with mental health.

More below: