Good Morning Britain was business as usual on Wednesday morning, despite being rocked by a major exit just hours earlier.
Piers Morgan dramatically quit the show after almost six years on Tuesday, having joined as a presenter in 2015.
Ranvir Singh was drafted in to replace the presenter and hosted alongside Susanna Reid hours after the news Piers had resigned.
It was confirmed at the start of the show that they would be in the hosting chair, while Piers would normally present on Wednesdays.
After talks with ITV, it was said they agreed to his resignation following backlash over his comments about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry this week.
(Image: INSTAGRAM)
The opinionated star clashed with GMB co-star Alex Beresford on the show on Tuesday, after his response to Meghan and Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey which aired on Monday night.
The host told viewers he was ‘sickened’ by the ‘two hour trashathon’ as he accused Harry and Meghan of likening the Royal Family to white supremacists.
He also dismissed Meghan’s account of her mental health battle, which has led to him coming under fire from mental health charity Mind.
Alex and Piers’ clash of words led to Piers storming off set live on air before returning soon after, with his exit announced that same day.
ITV confirmed his sudden departure, revealing: “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.”
(Image: Harpo Productions/ITV)
It was revealed Ofcom would be investigating complaints made against GMB and the host following Monday’s tense episode, as complaints hit over 41,000.
ITV were also said to be having talks with the star over his comments – while there was apparently no arguing back when Piers resigned after things “blew up”.
Last night sources claimed Morgan had been ordered to apologise on air over his Meghan comments but had refused. One insider said: “This is Piers Morgan we’re talking about, he has never backed down in his life – he’s hardly going to start now.”
TV bosses have been impressed with his performance on the show over the past five years, which have seen ratings rise from 600,000 in its early days to 1.7million now.
But on this issue, it is understood they felt that without an apology his position was untenable. The insider added: “Things blew up and Piers said he didn’t want to host the show any more – his resignation was accepted without any argument. It’s a huge shame because he’s been so strong across the pandemic and on Brexit.”
He joined the series in 2015, after previously fronting Piers Morgan Live on American news channel CNN, with the network deciding to pull the plug on his show after just three years in 2014.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
Originally from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/piers-morgan-replaced-ranvir-singh-23653122