Advertisement

Piers Morgan 'difficult to replace' on 'Good Morning Britain', admits ITV boss

Piers Morgan (ITV)
Piers Morgan when he was still co-host of Good Morning Britain.(ITV)

Piers Morgan is proving difficult to replace in the wake of his Good Morning Britain exit, ITV boss Kevin Lygo has admitted.

At the annual Edinburgh TV Festival today, ITV’s director of television answered questions about what viewers can expect in the near future.

When asked to discuss any updates on Morgan’s replacement on GMB, after the presenter's walkout from the series back in March, Lygo admitted it was a struggle to find the right person for the job.

Read more: Piers Morgan mocks own nomination for Best TV Presenter

“It’s a very difficult act to follow and what we are doing is having a range of people,” he said.

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 23: Kevin Lygo, Director of Television ITV, at the Edinburgh TV Festival, on August 23, 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ken Jack/Getty Images)
Kevin Lygo, ITV director of television. (Ken Jack/Getty Images)

“We have Susanna [Reid] as a lynchpin, we have had all sorts of people sitting next to Susanna, and we are just trying to see what works.”

Since Morgan’s unceremonious exit from the early morning news show – after a series of arguments over his opinions of Meghan Markle – a rotation of stars have sat in the "hot seat" next to Reid.

Read more: Richard Bacon feels 'awkward' holding Blue Peter annual

Co-hosts have included Martin Lewis, Richard Madeley, Adil Ray and Bill Turnbull.

Piers Morgan mocked the Chinese language live on air (Credit: ITV)
Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid (ITV)

Currently, Richard Bacon is guest-hosting for the month, while Reid has been replaced by Kate Garraway, Charlotte Hawkins and Ranvir Singh while she’s on holiday.

Since Morgan’s exit however, GMB has seen a ratings slump, with the show’s highest ever ratings occurring the day he stormed off set.

Morgan, who had fronted the show for six years, got into a heated debate with co-star Alex Beresford about Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Read more: Piers Morgan says he has eye problem after battling COVID

Declaring he "didn’t believe a word" Markle said, he later condemned her and Prince Harry for what he called a "trashathon" against the Royal Family.

Markle had made a number of claims including that she felt suicidal due to royal pressure, and that a "senior member" of the Royal Family had "expressed concern" about her son Archie’s potential skin colour while she was pregnant.

Richard Bacon is hosting <em>Good Morning Britain</em> throughout August. (ITV)
Richard Bacon is hosting Good Morning Britain throughout August. (ITV)

Morgan's comments about her resulted in a record-breaking 57,000 complaints to Ofcom.

A statement from the regulator said: “We can confirm that this issue has attracted the highest number of complaints since our reporting began.”

A day later, Morgan clarified his comments but did not apologise, stating that discussions around the suicidal comment in particular were loaded, and acknowledging that he “wasn’t in a place to say how she felt”.

However he continues to defend the fact that he doesn't believe what she said in the interview, and in later tweets referred to Markle as "Princess Pinnochio".

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.

Watch: Piers Morgan quits Good Morning Britain