Piers Morgan will leave Good Morning Britain, ITV has confirmed
The host recently came in for criticism following comments directed towards Meghan Markle.
Piers Morgan is stepping down as co-host of Good Morning Britain.
In a statement, ITV said: "Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add."
The broadcaster had previously issued a statement following Piers Morgan’s comments on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
During the interview, Meghan revealed there was a time she “didn’t want to be alive anymore.” She added: “I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. And I said that I’d never felt this way before. I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn’t, because it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
Morgan discussed the interview on Monday’s Good Morning Britain broadcast, before it had aired in the UK in full, saying, “I’m sorry, I don’t believe a word [Meghan Markle] says. I wouldn’t believe her if she read me a weather report, and the fact that she’s fired up this onslaught against our royal family, I think is contemptible.”
In a statement the following day, a spokesperson for ITV said: "ITV is committed to mental health and wellbeing and working with our charity partners on Britain Get Talking, which is about encouraging people to talk about their mental health. It is very important that if anyone has suicidal thoughts that they should always speak out and be listened to.”
Morgan had served as co-host on Good Morning Britain, Mondays-Wednesdays, since 2015. He stormed off the set of the breakfast programme this morning (9th March) after clashing with contributor Alex Beresford over his comments regarding Markle.
ITV has not yet confirmed how Good Morning Britain will address Morgan's departure. Ben Shephard has traditionally co-hosted the show on Thursdays and Fridays, with Susanna Reid serving as co-anchor Monday-Thursday and Kate Garraway replacing her on Fridays.
In the past, relief anchors have included Alex Beresford, Ravnir Singh and Adil Ray.
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