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Piers Morgan Leaving Good Morning Britain, Confirms ITV

Piers Morgan Is Stepping Down From Good Morning Britain and Frankly, It's About Time

From ITV Daytime GOOD MORNING BRITAINWeekdays on ITV Pictured: Pier Morgan and Susanna Reid (c) ITV Photographer: Nicky Johnson For further information please contact Peter Gray0207 157 3046 peter.gray@itv.com  This photograph is © ITV and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the  programme Good Morning Britain or ITV. Once made available by the ITV Picture Desk, this photograph can be reproduced once only up until the Transmission date and no reproduction fee will be charged. Any subsequent usage may incur a fee. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itvpictures.com

On 9 March, ITV confirmed that Piers Morgan will be stepping down from his role on Good Morning Britain, news that comes just hours of his walk out on the show this morning. "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," read the official statement from the television network. Morgan has come under fire on numerous occasions for his controversial views and racist remarks, and most recently, his reaction to the news that Meghan Markle had experienced suicidal thoughts during her first pregnancy. Following his reaction, Ofcom received over 41,000 complaints, which has now led the communications regulator to launch a full investigation.

Following his careless reaction to the news, the UK mental health charity Mind released a statement on Twitter condemning Morgan for accusing Markle of lying. One of Morgan's costars, Alex Beresford, also shared his views on Twitter today after calling Morgan out for his remarks. The tweet read, "I wish I had the privilege to sit on the fence. In order for me to do that I would have to strip myself of my identity and that's not something I can do. It's not any of our places to pick apart claims of racism in order to make us to feel more comfortable."

On 10 March, Susanna Reid shared her thoughts on today's edition of Good Morning Britain, following his departure. She told viewers that "Piers and I have disagreed on many things, and that dynamic was one of the things that viewers loved about the programme. He is, without doubt, an outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive broadcaster. He has many critics, and he has many fans. You all know that I disagreed with him about Meghan's interview — he himself clarified his comments about her mental health on the show yesterday."

She went on to say that "there are many voices on GMB, and everyone has their say, but now Piers has decided to leave the programme. "Some of you may cheer, and others will 'boo'. He's been my presenting partner, Monday to Wednesday, for more than five years, and during Brexit, and the pandemic, and other issues, he has been a voice for many of you and a voice that many of you have railed against. It is certainly going to be very different, but shows go on, and so on we go."

Reid's cohost Ranvir Singh, who copresented the show today, said that "he is a big character, and lots of people have got in touch to say, you know, this was always on the cards. You know, people are glad that he has gone, many viewers will be absolutely gutted this morning because we had our highest ratings on Monday. There is a reason for that. People want to know what he thinks and like to know whether they agree with him or not. They want to hear what he has to say, and we have all been on that ride . . . They don't call him Marmite for nothing, you know — there is a reason for that. Yeah, look, we are here. The show is still GMB, we still do our job, and we have still got lots to say and lots to debate. But, of course, for many of you this morning, you will be scratching your heads a little bit. But we understand that, and a colleague of ours has left, so it is a different atmosphere in the studio today. It is a slightly discombobulating feeling for all of us."

It's not yet been announced who will be replacing Morgan on the show.

Image Source: ITV Pictures
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