Piers Morgan quits Good Morning Britain after Meghan Markle comments
Piers Morgan has quit ITV’s breakfast show Good Morning Britain shortly after Ofcom launched an investigation into his comments about Meghan Markle.
A spokesperson for 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.”
Morgan faced criticism from viewers following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday, in which Markle revealed she felt at one point she “didn’t want to be alive anymore”.
On Monday morning Morgan said he “didn’t believe a word” of it. It came on the same day GMB closed its ratings gap with the BBC taking a 31 per cent share of breakfast TV, with a peak of 37 per cent, that morning.
Ofcom said it had launched an investigation after it received more than 41,000 complaints about his remarks about the Duke and Duchess.
ITV boss Dame Carolyn McCall said she “completely believed” Markle adding ITV is “totally committed” to mental health.
On Tuesday morning Morgan clashed with his colleague Alex Beresford about comments before storming out and returning 10 minutes later.
McCall said the company’s managing director of media Kevin Lygo had been in discussions with Morgan about his coverage of the interview.
Morgan became a permanent co-host of GMB in November 2015 appearing alongside Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins.