Richard Madeley has been confirmed as Piers Morgan’s replacement on Good Morning Britain.
Piers, 56, quit in March in the wake of his reaction to Meghan Markle‘s interview with Oprah Winfrey, and now daytime icon Richard, 65, is finalising a £300,000 deal following a trial stint over the summer.
Richard will start his new role after appearing on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! which starts on November 21, and will appear alongside a revolving team of guest presenters.
Richard himself confirmed he would be staying with the show on Wednesday’s GMB, saying: ‘I’m doing the show down the line along with other people.’
New role? Richard Madeley has been confirmed as Piers Morgan’s replacement on Good Morning Britain
The star – who co-hosted This Morning with Judy from 1988 until 2001 – is expected to host for two or three days a week.
A representative for GMB told MailOnline: ‘Richard is one of a host of guest presenters on GMB.’
Back in April it was reported Richard was being lined up as Piers’ replacement.
Ahead of his stint on I’m A Celebrity, insiders claim his appearance in the Welsh castle will be the ‘perfect launch pad’ for the new presenting gig.
Explosive: Piers, 56, quit in March in the wake of his reaction to Meghan Markle ‘s interview with Oprah Winfrey, and now daytime icon Richard, 65, is finalising a £300,000 deal following a trial stint over the summer
It had been claimed by The Sun that Richard came to the decision after a ‘heart to heart’ with his wife Judy Finnigan.
A source told the newspaper: ‘Richard has always maintained he would never do GMB full-time, as he loves his life as it is.
‘But as the weeks have gone by, and he’s proven a constant hit with viewers, he’s really got into his stride and has been enjoying it more and more. He polls really well with fans and ratings have steadily been on the rise again over the past six months…
‘After a couple of meetings with ITV bosses, he was offered a full-time contract. And after consulting with his family, especially wife Judy, he decided ‘sod it’ — and to go for it.’
Career: Richard will start his new role after appearing on ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! which starts on November 21, and will appear alongside a revolving team of guest presenters (pictured with co-host Susanna Reid)
According to the publication, bosses tested out Richard with a guest stint over the summer, and hoped he’d be a good fit to replace Piers thanks to his background in journalism and no-nonsense approach during interviews.
A source said: ‘Piers is nigh-on impossible to replace and GMB execs accept this, but Richard has his own inimitable style.
‘Like Piers, he’s a trained journalist who knows how to press guests and get a decent ‘line’ from interviewees.
‘He shoots from the hip, says what he thinks, and is a genuinely brilliant, likeable chap off air — so it’s very much a ”watch this space”
MailOnline contacted representatives for Good Morning Britain and Richard Madeley for comment at the time.
The reports came after Richard himself said he would be open to filling Piers’ seat on GMB and would be ‘bonkers’ to turn down the opportunity,
He told Metro: ‘If the phone went and they said, ‘Would you come in and talk?’ of course I would talk to them. It would be bonkers not to. But I very much like sitting in for people. I have all the fun and very little of the responsibility or flak.’
Storming off: Earlier this year Piers announced he had quit GMB after Alex Beresford, 40, challenged his comments about the Duchess of Sussex, 37, and her interview with Oprah, 67
And while Piers is regularly seen going toe-to-toe with trolls on Twitter, Richard insists he ‘doesn’t give a f**k’ about what they’d say about him should he leave himself open to criticism by sharing his views on the show.
He said of the possibility of facing trolls: ‘I personally couldn’t give a f**k. Far too many younger presenters have been affected by Twitter and cowed by it.
‘I remember when I started sitting in for Piers on Good Morning Britain, I’d have a look at Twitter after I’d done a programme and, yes, you get some nice comments but you also get horrendous abuse and, from time to time, death threats.’
Earlier this year Piers announced he had quit GMB after Alex Beresford, 40, challenged his comments about the Duchess of Sussex, 37, and her interview with Oprah, 67.
Exit: Piers, who refused to apologise, later announced his resignation and tweeted his thanks to the GMB team, praising them for their ‘hard work and dedication’
The outspoken GMB host left the daytime show after he insisted he ‘didn’t believe a word’ of Meghan’s account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the royal family.
Piers then walked off set after a fierce debate with Alex, in which the weather presenter accused Piers of unfairly ‘trashing’ Meghan, and branded him ‘diabolical’.
Piers, who refused to apologise, later announced his resignation and tweeted his thanks to the GMB team, praising them for their ‘hard work and dedication’ that led to them beating their main breakfast TV rival.
Since Piers’ exit from the show he has received messages from several stars, naming Jeremy Clarkson and Bear Grylls, who have said he had a ‘right’ to say his mind.
Sharon Osbourne also voiced her support for Piers during an appearance on The Talk, though she has since parted ways with the CBS show.
Following Piers’ departure, a number of stars have stepped in to co-host the show alongside Susanna Reid, including Adil Ray, Alex Beresford, and Ben Shephard.
Dropping: Since Piers’ exit, GMB has seen a drop in ratings, with Susanna Reid appearing alongside rotating guest hosts while bosses search for a permenant replacement (Adil Ray is pictured)