GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2021: Beaming Piers Morgan parties with glamorous wife Celia Walden

GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2021: Beaming Piers Morgan parties with glamorous wife Celia Walden after his tirade at Meghan Markle’s Oprah lies was CLEARED by Ofcom

  • Piers, 56, seemed in the mood to celebrate with his wife Celia, 45, after being cleared by the TV watchdog
  • On Wednesday Ofcom cleared Piers and Good Morning Britain of breaching the broadcasting code 
  • ITV’s director of TV Kevin Lygo said to be fighting a ‘one-man mission’ to bring him back to GMB

Piers Morgan attended the 2021 GQ Awards on Wednesday night with his wife Celia Walden hours after he was triumphantly cleared of breaching broadcasting rules by Ofcom. 

The presenter, 56, was undoubtedly in the mood to celebrate as he joined his glamorous partner, 45 at the star-studded soiree held at London’s Tate Modern. 

Beaming as he posed at the event, Piers looked dapper in a fitted black suit while cosying up to Celia, who looked phenomenal in a low-cut black leather dress. 

GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2021: Beaming Piers Morgan partied with glamorous wife Celia Walden on Wednesday after his tirade at Meghan Markle’s Oprah lies was CLEARED by Ofcom

While on their way to the venue, Piers snapped a selfie with Celia that he captioned with a fitting Winston Churchill quote. 

It read: ‘Everyone is in favour of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.’ – Winston Churchill. #gqmoty’

The pair toasted with a glass of champagne as they attended the red carpet event just hours after Ofcom confirmed his right to free speech by dismissing more than 57,000 complaints about his criticism of Meghan Markle including ‘not believing a word’ she told Oprah Winfrey about her experiences of suicidal thoughts.

Following the ruling questions remained over whether there is still a ‘slim chance’ that Piers could return to host Good Morning Britain. 

Ready to let loose! The presenter, 56, was undoubtedly in the mood to celebrate as he joined his glamorous partner, 45 at the star-studded soiree held at London's Tate Modern

Ready to let loose! The presenter, 56, was undoubtedly in the mood to celebrate as he joined his glamorous partner, 45 at the star-studded soiree held at London’s Tate Modern

It was also reported in The Sun that ITV’s director of television Kevin Lygo, described as a ‘big fan’ of Piers, is on a ‘one-man mission’ to bring him back, although an insider said he was currently ‘fighting a losing battle internally’.

The development came after the UK’s broadcasting watchdog called attempts to silence MailOnline columnist Piers a ‘chilling restriction on freedom of expression’ after the Duchess of Sussex was among a wave of people who complained that his questioning of her account of royal racism and suicidal thoughts was ‘harmful’ and ‘offensive’ to viewers.

Following the announcement however, ITV revealed they ‘have no current plans to invite him to present Good Morning Britain’, with one source saying: ‘Piers decided to leave. We accepted his decision.’

Something to smile about? Beaming as he posed at the event, Piers looked dapper in a fitted black suit as he headed out after his Ofcom victory

Something to smile about? Beaming as he posed at the event, Piers looked dapper in a fitted black suit as he headed out after his Ofcom victory 

Something to say: While on their way to the venue, Piers snapped a selfie with Celia that he captioned with a fitting Winston Churchill quote

Something to say: While on their way to the venue, Piers snapped a selfie with Celia that he captioned with a fitting Winston Churchill quote 

The Sun said that despite Kevin’s lobbying, Good Morning Britain bosses viewed there being a ‘slim to no chance’ that Piers would return to the ITV show, which he quit in the aftermath of the coverage of Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview which Ofcom went on to investigate.

It remains to be seen if other hosting roles at the network could be made available.

Speaking about losing his GMB job after the Ofcom decision, Piers said: ‘I didn’t want to lose my job in the first place. But I only really want to work for someone who supports freedom of speech and free expression, and I felt frankly that ITV let me down and let their viewers down.’

Complaints: More than 57,000 people - including Meghan - contacted Ofcom after Piers said he didn't believe the Duchess's claims about experiencing suicidal thoughts

Complaints: More than 57,000 people – including Meghan – contacted Ofcom after Piers said he didn’t believe the Duchess’s claims about experiencing suicidal thoughts

Petitions to have Piers reinstated in his GMB role are still being signed, with three different appeals on Change.org reaching a collective total of 264,201 signatures.

Executives at ITV are currently hunting for a potential permanent replacement as the programme struggles with viewer figures. It is believed Martin Lewis and Richard Bacon are among the favourites.

It comes as Piers revealed the number of job offers he has received since leaving ITV’s flagship breakfast show has ‘accelerated’ since he was found not to have breach Ofcom’s broadcasting code.

GQ MEN OF THE YEAR 2021: THE WINNERS

BAND OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Wolf Alice

BOSS BREAKTHROUGH ACTOR OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Kingsley Ben-Adir

BOSS LEADING MEN OF THE YEAR

WINNER: Paul Bettany

DEEZER BREAKTHROUGH MUSIC ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Arlo Parks 

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Brunello Cucinelli

GAME CHANGER OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Dame Vivienne Westwood

HEROES OF THE YEAR 

WINNERS: Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Dr Catherine Green and the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine 

ICON 

WINNER: Sacha Baron Cohen 

INSPIRATION OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Gareth Southgate

JAGUAR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT OF THE YEAR 

WINNERS: Team GB & Paralympics GB 

LEGEND

WINNER: Sir Anthony Hopkins

MADDOX GALLERY ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Beeple

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION 

WINNER: Bobby Gillespie 

PERONI NASTRO AZZURRO BREAKTHROUGH DESIGNER OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Harris Reed

SOLO ARTIST OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Ed Sheeran 

STANDOUT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Regé-Jean Page 

TELEVISION ACTOR OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Adrian Dunbar 

WRITER OF THE YEAR 

WINNER: Quentin Tarantino 

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