Petitions demanding Piers Morgan returns to Good Morning Britain are gaining traction today.
Three separate online campaigns, signed by thousands of people, are urging bosses to offer Piers his job back in the wake of his dramatic exit last night.
Viewers have taken to social media to express their support for Piers and lament his loss from the show – vowing to stop watching it from now on.
Mr Morgan is understood to have been ordered to apologise – but he refused and quit, instead saying he had the right to tell viewers his ‘honestly held opinions’ and declaring: ‘Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on’.
Standing firm today, he told reporters outside his West London home: ‘If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.’
His sentiment was echoed by fans, who hit out at ‘woke extremists…trying to silence any dissent or criticism’.
This comes after it emerged Meghan Markle wrote to ITV’s boss to complain about Piers hours before the GMB co-host quit on the day the show scored its highest ever ratings and beat BBC Breakfast.
Piers Morgan laughs with a well-wisher near his home today after quitting GMB in a row sparked by his comments about not believing Meghan Markle, and doubling down today he said: ‘I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage she’s done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible’
One petition – which was set up last year to stop Piers from facing the axe – has gained traction again today
People are throwing their weight behind petitions to get Piers reinstates, and sharing their support on social media
Fans took to social media in their droves today, backing calls for Piers to return to GMB.
One petition – which was set up last year to stop Piers from facing the axe – has gained traction again today, with thousands signing it in the last 24 hours.
It urges fans: ‘This man has stuck by our NHS when many others didn’t care including our government.
‘He confronts the politicians on questions many of us want answering. He sponsored sir captain Tom £10000 to start him off to support our NHS. Please sign this petition and share it on, give him the support that he has given us as NHS workers.’
Two others on the Change.org site are calling for ITV to bring Piers back.
One, set up last night, states: ‘How ITV have treated Piers Morgan after he saved one of their failing shows is appalling.
‘They have thrown him under the bus and allowed him to be bullied by an colleague on air.
‘Piers has turned the show into the most talked about show on ITV.
‘He was the only person who spoke on behalf of viewers during the pandemic and now he’s been bullied by the snowflakes all for speaking the truth.
‘BRING PIERS BACK ITV.’
Another petition, set up in 2019 to ‘Keep Piers Morgan on GMB for his common sense approach to life’ is also gaining momentum today.
Piers’ departure also raises fresh fears for the future of the show, which has proven to be a ratings hit thanks to his no-nonsense approach.
Many have pointed out that whether they liked Piers or not, he held politicians to account on a daily basis and became a strong voice for NHS workers throughout the Covid pandemic.
The Duchess of Sussex insists she was not upset that Mr Morgan said he ‘didn’t believe a word she said’ in her Oprah interview – but was worried about how his comments could affect people attempting to deal with their own mental health problems, an insider told the Press Association.
On Monday Ms Markle went directly to ITV’s CEO Dame Carolyn McCall, the former boss of the left-wing Guardian newspaper, who signed off on the broadcaster’s £1million deal to show the Oprah interview and said yesterday they were ‘dealing with’ the GMB host.
GMB wins ratings war with BBC Breakfast on Piers Morgan’s last day: ITV’s morning show beat rival for first time since 2017 with 2.2M peak audience compared to 1.8M
Piers Morgan’s divisive final episode of Good Morning Britain was a ratings hit – beating BBC Breakfast viewing figures for the first time since 2017.
At its peak yesterday – just before 8am – Good Morning Britain had 2.2 million viewers tuned in to watch Mr Morgan and co-host Susannah Reid.
Meanwhile, presenters Dan Walker and Louise Minchin on the BBC’s morning show Breakfast pulled in 1.8 million viewers at its 9am peak, figures show.
GMB has only ever beaten BBC Breakfast in the ratings war three times in the past – in September 2014, December 2014 and June 2017.
Yesterday’s GMB segment saw the tough-talking morning show host storm off camera during a heated on-air row with weatherman Alex Beresford over his criticism of Meghan Markle.
He took to Twitter today to celebrate his ratings success, writing: ‘Good Morning Britain beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings yesterday for the first time. My work is done.’
His departure from ITV’s breakfast show, which he helped transform into a ratings hit that beat its BBC rival for the first time yesterday, came amid the fallout from the extraordinary Oprah interview that has caused the Royal Family’s worst crisis since Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936.
Hours after it was broadcast Mr Morgan branded Meghan ‘Princess Pinocchio’ after the Duchess said she was suicidal while five months pregnant but was denied any help by the palace. She also accused the Royal Family of being concerned Archie’s skin would be too ‘dark’ and denying him the title of prince because he is mixed race, with Mr Morgan demanding the Sussexes back up their claims with evidence.
His views, and his refusal to back down in the row, sparked more than 41,000 complaints made to Ofcom, fuelled by an orchestrated social media campaign spearheaded by his critics including several Labour MPs. But despite Mr Morgan’s years of successful skewering of ministers on the show, which led to a Government boycotts if GMB during the pandemic, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he ‘would miss him’.
The Duchess of Sussex’s decision to intervene in the row came as Mr Morgan doubled down today after leaving GMB, calling Meghan’s incendiary claims to Oprah about the Royal Family ‘contemptible’ and declaring: ‘I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth’.
He added: ‘I think the damage she’s done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible’, before revealing that he left on the day more people watched GMB than its BBC rival, five years after Piers transformed the ITV ratings flop. He tweeted later: ‘Good Morning Britain beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings yesterday for the first time. My work is done’.
Mr Morgan described his departure from the programme he helped transform into a ratings hit as ‘amicable’, saying: ‘I had a good chat with ITV and we agreed to disagree.’ He added: ‘I’m just going to take it easy and see how we go. I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that’s entirely their right’.
And in a message for his critics he said: ‘I think it’s fair to say, although the woke crowd will think that they’ve cancelled me, I think they will be rather disappointed when I re-emerge. I would call it a temporary hibernation.’ He added that he is ‘always in talks with people’.
Strictly star Ranvir Singh was in his chair this morning and Susanna Reid admitted it will be a ‘very different’ programme without her co-star of five years and told viewers this morning that he had been a ‘voice for many of you’ through Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. Lorraine Kelly later paid tribute to her ‘loyal friend’ who is ‘always there if you need him’.
Just after the show began at 6am this morning he tweeted to his 7.8million followers: ‘On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions’. He also shared a quote by Britain’s greatest prime minister Winston Churchill, which said: ‘Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage’.
Meghan Markle told Oprah Winfrey that she was suicidal when she was part of the Royal Family living in the UK and told her husband: ‘I don’t want to be alive anymore’ – Mr Morgan said in response that he ‘didn’t believe a word she said’
Mr Morgan has now doubled down on his comments about Meghan Markle after dramatically storming out of the Good Morning Britain studio and quitting the programme. At 6.11am today Mr Morgan tweeted: ‘On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t. If you did, OK. Freedom of speech is a hill I’m happy to die on. Thanks for all the love, and hate. I’m off to spend more time with my opinions’
Ranvir Singh co-hosted Good Morning Britain with Susanna Reid today after Mr Morgan’s decision to quit the show
In their own words: What Piers Morgan and his GMB colleagues have said about his exit and the fallout
Piers Morgan
Piers Morgan labelled the Duchess of Sussex’s comments in her interview with Oprah Winfrey as ‘contemptible’.
Speaking outside his London home after quitting Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, the presenter described his departure from the programme as ‘amicable’, adding: ‘I had a good chat with ITV and we agreed to disagree.’
Morgan added: ‘I’m just going to take it easy and see how we go.
‘I believe in freedom of speech, I believe in the right to be allowed to have an opinion. If people want to believe Meghan Markle, that’s entirely their right.
‘I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth and I think the damage she’s done to the British monarchy and to the Queen at a time when Prince Philip is lying in hospital is enormous and frankly contemptible.
‘If I have to fall on my sword for expressing an honestly held opinion about Meghan Markle and that diatribe of bilge that she came out with in that interview, so be it.’
Piers Morgan said: ‘I think it’s fair to say, although the woke crowd will think that they’ve cancelled me, I think they will be rather disappointed when I re-emerge.
‘I would call it a temporary hibernation.’
He added that he is ‘always in talks with people’.
Asked what he would say to his Good Morning Britain colleague, Alex Beresford, with whom he had a heated debate during Tuesday’s show, Morgan said: ‘Good luck to him.’
Susanna Reid
Susanna Reid said Good Morning Britain will be ‘very different’ but ‘shows go on’ as she addressed the abrupt departure of her co-host Piers Morgan.
Speaking during Wednesday’s programme, she said: ‘He is without doubt an outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive broadcaster.
‘He has many critics and he has many fans. You will know that I disagreed with him about Meghan’s interview. He himself clarified his comments about her mental health on the show yesterday.
‘There are many voices on GMB and everyone has their say. But now Piers has decided to leave the programme. Some of you may cheer and others may boo.
‘He has been my presenting partner, Monday to Wednesday, for more than five years and during Brexit and the pandemic and other issues, he has been a voice for many of you and a voice that many of you have railed against.
‘It is certainly going to be very different but shows go on and so on we go.’
Reid commented that it had been a ‘rollercoaster ride’, and said: ‘As you know as viewers we have had our disagreements daily. I mean there have been times when I’ve thought we haven’t been able to agree on anything – on and off screen of course, you know that, it’s one of the dynamics of the programme but Piers has made the decision to leave Good Morning Britain and so it is looking very different this morning.’
Ranvir Singh
Discussing Piers Morgan’s departure, Ranvir Singh said he had “ruffled feathers and he shook up everything on breakfast television, on all channels, you know, it wasn’t just about this show, he shook up the landscape of what we do, the nature of what we do, so that can’t be denied…”
Ms Singh is amongst the favourites to take the job, but said: ‘I was here anyway, don’t read anything into this, I was here anyway. I’ve shifted seats on this brand new desk. It’s a strange morning for all of us here, but the decision has been made and i think when there are thousands of complaints about something things have to be taken seriously.’
On an extraordinary day for the show yesterday, Mr Morgan walked off set live on air after the show’s weatherman Alex Beresford accused him of unfairly ‘trashing’ Meghan, branding him ‘diabolical’ and saying: ‘I’m sorry but Piers just spouts off on a regular basis and we have to sit there and listen’.
Asked what he would say to his Good Morning Britain colleague, Mr Beresford, Mr Morgan said: ‘Good luck to him.’ Mr Beresford was not on screen today, with Laura Tobin presenting the GMB weather this morning.
Hours later Mr Morgan quit, with his supporters defending his views and claiming his exit is more bad news for free speech and a sad indictment of cancel culture in Britain after critics including Labour MP Dawn Butler encouraged people to complain to ITV and Ofcom. Others have questioned whether GMB’s viewing figures will hold-up without its star, who helped add a million new viewers in his time on the show.
After Ranvir Singh, a GMB reporter and star of Strictly last year, stepped in for Piers today, Susanna then gave a short speech on the tumultuous events of the past 24 hours.
Ms Reid said: ‘A number of people will know the news and many of you will not and will be surprised that Piers Morgan is not here this morning. Now, Piers and I have disagreed on many things and that dynamic was one of the things viewers loved about the programme.
‘He is without doubt an outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive broadcaster. He has many critics and he has many fans. You will know that I disagreed with him about Meghan’s interview. He himself clarified his comments about her mental health on the show yesterday.’
Reid said there are ‘many voices’ on Good Morning Britain and ‘everyone has their say’. She added: ‘But now Piers has decided to leave the programme. Some of you may cheer and others may boo.
‘He has been my presenting partner, Monday to Wednesday, for more than five years and during Brexit and the pandemic and other issues, he has been a voice for many of you and a voice that many of you have railed against.
‘It is certainly going to be very different but shows go on and so on we go.’
Ranvir Singh, Reid’s co-presenter for the morning, replied: ‘Well said.’ She described Morgan as a ‘big character’ and said ‘many viewers will be absolutely gutted’. Singh called Morgan ‘Marmite’ and acknowledged his role in Good Morning Britain’s success. Ms Singh is amongst the favourites to take the job, but said: ‘I was here anyway, don’t read anything into this, I was here anyway. I’ve shifted seats on this brand new desk’.
It came after 55-year-old Mr Morgan shocked viewers by walking off camera during a heated on-air row with weatherman Alex Beresford, saying ‘I’m done with this’ after being challenged on his position of the Duke and Duchess by his co-star.
Afterwards ITV CEO Carolyn McCall – who formerly worked for the left-wing Guardian newspaper – said that the broadcaster’s media and entertainment MD Kevin Lygo was speaking to Mr Morgan.
And last night it was announced that Mr Morgan had quit the hugely popular ITV show – which he co-hosted with Susanna Reid.
An ITV spokesman told MailOnline: ‘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.’
It is understood Mr Morgan had been asked to apologise for his remarks which had been criticised by mental health campaigners but had declined.
It brings to an end his six-year long association with the breakfast show, which he originally joined as a guest host in 2015, during which time he has made it must-see TV with a strong of exclusives and his strident opinions.
Ironically it came the day after GMB recorded its highest ever viewing figures in the wake of Megan Markle’s blockbuster Oprah Winfrey interview.
It also came on the day that he had followed up with an agenda-setting interview with her father Thomas in which Mr Markle had taken aim at ‘snotty’ Harry, defended the British people and Royals against her claims of racism and revealed that he felt she had betrayed him, not the other way around.
Earlier Morgan, who this evening Tweeted a picture of himself with former manager David Ferriter and the message ‘trust your gut’, also addressed his previous comments regarding the Duchess’s mental health.
Yesterday, he was criticised by the charity, Mind, after saying he ‘didn’t believe a word she said’. I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report,’ he added.
Piers then addressed these remarks on the show and said: ‘When we talked about this yesterday I said as an all-encompassing thing I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying generally in this interview and I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said.
‘But let me just state for the record on my position on mental illness and on suicide.
‘On mental illness and suicide these are clearly extremely serious things and should be taken extremely seriously and if someone is feeling that way they should get the treatment and the help they need every time. Every time.
‘And if they belong to an institution like the Royal family and they go and seek that help they should absolutely be given it.
‘It’s not for me to question if she felt suicidal, I am not in her mind and that is for her to say.
‘My real concern was a disbelief frankly and I’m prepared to be proven wrong on this and if I’m wrong it is a scandal, that she went to a senior member of the Royal household and told them she was suicidal and was told she could not have any help because it would be a bad look for the family.
‘If that is true a) that person should be fired and b) The Royal family have serious questions that need to be answered.’
But it was not enough to stop a wildfire social media campaign against him that resulted in 41,000 complaints to TV watchdog Ofcom by last night who announced they had launched a probe under their ‘harms’ code.
The campaign featured an avalanche of tweets which criticised the host and supporting Meghan – some sharing direct links to the Ofcom complaints page. Among those launching criticism at Morgan were Labour MP Dawn Butler, who copied in the Twitter page of ITV to her Tweet.
In her social media post, which shared a comment from Mind criticising Morgan’s remarks, she asked: ‘@ITV what have you decided to do?’
Another Twitter user said: ‘It took me about seven minutes to complain to fill in the Ofcom online form to complain about Piers Morgan’s disgusting behaviour on mental health and race issues. It’s not much, but if enough people complain they have to do something!’
One Twitter user – who said: ‘I am determined to get Piers off GMB Lolz. Which petitions do I need to sign?’ – received a response with a link to the Ofcom complaints page.
Their decision to act was in stark contrast to what happened with 24,500 people complained about dance troop Diversity’s BLM-inspired routine on Britain’s Got Talent last year when the watchdog refused a probe and said: ‘We carefully considered a large number of complaints about this artistic routine, an area where freedom of expression is particularly important.
‘Diversity’s performance referred to challenging and potentially controversial subjects, and in our view, its central message was a call for social cohesion and unity.
‘Any depictions of violence by the performers were highly stylised and symbolic of recent global events, and there was no explicit reference to any particular political organisation – but rather a message that the lives of black people matter.’
Susanna Reid said Good Morning Britain will be ‘very different’ but ‘shows go on’ as she addressed the abrupt departure of her co-host Piers Morgan.
GMB host Alex Beresford had told Piers: ‘ I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle, you’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme, and I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off.’ Shortly after, Piers then stormed out of the studio
GMB weatherman Alex Beresford (left) had told Piers (right): ‘ I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle, you’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme, and I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off’ – Pieres wished him the ‘best of luck’ today
Grant Shapps says he will ‘miss’ Piers Morgan but dodges questions over Harry and Meghan
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps today said he will ‘miss’ being interviewed on ITV’s Good Morning Britain by Piers Morgan
Grant Shapps today said he will ‘miss’ being interviewed by Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme but dodged questions about Harry and Meghan.
Mr Morgan stuck to his position this morning as he said he still does not believe the Duchess of Sussex as the GMB programme aired without him following his abrupt departure yesterday.
The Transport Secretary said ‘personally I will miss him on there’ as he said the presenter ‘gave a very tough but usually quite fair interview’.
But Mr Shapps would not be drawn on the royal family row as he said ‘there is a long-standing and I think very good convention that Cabinet ministers don’t comment on royal family matters like this’.
He said he did not believe him commenting ‘adds anything’ but stressed in broad terms that ‘recognising the stresses and strains of mental health… are very, very important indeed’.
Asked about Mr Morgan’s departure from GMB, Mr Shapps told Sky News: ‘Well, putting the issue aside of what he was actually talking about, I will miss the interviews with him.
‘I would have been doing one in half an hour or whatever time I am on Good Morning Britain this morning.
‘Personally I always thought he gave a very tough but usually quite fair interview and as with all interviewers I always found that if you actually answered the question you tended to have an ok ride with it which was always, I try and go on and if you didn’t know the answer just say look, I don’t know or if you do know you give the facts.
‘Personally I will miss him on there. I wasn’t going to get into the details of the argument, one way or the other with regard to Meghan though, that is a rather different matter.’
Mr Morgan is also Editor at large for MailOnline and writes a twice weekly column for the website. A spokesman for MailOnline said: ‘This is a very sad day for British free speech and one ITV will come to regret very quickly. We stand by Piers 120%.’
While hundreds of Twitter users rejoiced Morgan’s departure – some even claiming the host had ‘cancelled himself – several stars and TV personalities rushed to his defence. It included his own son, Spencer Morgan, who posted a picture of he and his father with the caption ‘Team Piers. Always, forever.’
Regular Good Morning Britain guest India Willoughby was who defended the journalist on Twitter. She said: ‘I think people forget that NOBODY watched breakfast TV before Piers Morgan. On any channel.
‘It was filler while you got ready for work. He and Susanna Reid at TV gold. They made it a must-watch. Massive mistake by ITV. Woke is killing everything.’
Another to speak about Morgan’s departure was Conservative commentator Darren Grimes. He said: ‘I’ve had my fair share of Piers Morgan rows. I don’t agree with him on everything, but this is ITV pandering to cancel culture mob.
‘Piers Morgan has quite literally penned a book warning against censorship of dissenting views and speech, ITV will be poorer for it.’
His former co-host on Britain’s Got Talent, Sharon Osbourne, also jumped to Morgan’s defence. She said: ‘I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you are paid for your opinion and that you are speaking your truth.’
There was also backing from highly-respected Channel 4 presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who said Morgan’s departure would be welcomed among Conservatives. He said: ‘For all you think he gets wrong (which are matters of opinion) few will be more pleased to see Piers Morgan go than ministers who won’t face him anymore.
‘GMB always lost the ratings war to BBC, but was talked about more. Murdoch or GB News will bite his hands off.’
However, one Conservative, former MEP David Bannerman, said on Twitter that he backed Morgan and that ITV had made a ‘huge mistake’.
Meanwhile, American journalist Megyn Kelly, who gave a scathing review of Meghan and Harry’s interview on Good Morning Britain after it had aired in the US, also backed Morgan.
She said: ‘I don’t know what happened with Piers Morgan at GMB. What I do know is he and Susanna have been a brilliant team that took risks and became must-watch TV.
‘In an era of free speech being stifled everywhere, Piers fearlessly speaks his mind. We need more, not fewer, like that in the media.’
And last night the Free Speech Union, a UK-based organisation advocating free speech, also backed the TV host, saying on Twitter: ‘Love him or hate him, no one should lose their job at the behest of a twitter mob.
‘Reports that ITV were insisting he apologise for his remarks about Meghan are deeply concerning. Piers has always defended others’ right to free speech. We should stick up for his.’
Earlier, before the announcement was made, Alex Beresford added fuel to his on-going feud with the presenter today as he took aim at those who ‘had the privilege to sit on the fence’ and said no one should ‘pick apart claims of racism.’
He was today publicly backed by GMB’s political producer Anne Alexander, who tweeted: ‘I know the storming off is dramatic etc, but don’t let Alex’s calm and thoughtful words about Harry and Meghan be lost in the drama.And this is a guy who is not a regular presenter taking on one of the most formidable journalists in the country.’
She later posted: ‘Well, my WhatsApp is on fire and I’ve not even had breakfast yet. And @alexberesfordTV, I have two proposals of marriage to pass on to you.’
Mr Morgan had stormed off the Good Morning Britain set live on air this morning after the show’s weatherman accused him of unfairly ‘trashing’ Meghan Markle.
Morgan and Beresford had been discussing the Sussexes’ bombshell interview with Oprah, where the couple accused the Royal Family of racism.
After publicly disagreeing on Twitter in the days leading up to the interview, the pair continued to clash in the studio this morning, with Beresford branding his colleague ‘diabolical’.
Tensions were evidently rising as Beresford tried to interject while Morgan was discussing the media’s role in promoting the monarchy.
Morgan said, ‘Well do you mind waiting?’ and Beresford replied ‘Actually I don’t, carry on’ before Morgan let him speak, saying, ‘Up to you mate, I was just going to… fine.’
Beresford then joined the debate around the couple’s press coverage, adding: ‘There was bad press around the engagement, before the engagement and everything that has followed since has been incredibly damaging, quite clearly to Meghan’s mental health and also to Harry.’
The weatherman, 40, then suggested Morgan, who has previously recalled going to the pub with Meghan ahead of her date with Prince Harry, was upset at being ‘cut off’ by the duchess.
He added: ‘She’s entitled to cut you off. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has. But you continue to trash her’ – at which point Morgan marched off set.
Susanna Reid was forced to send ITV’s breakfast programme to an early advertisement break after the row between her co-host and Beresford boiled over.
The GMB host returned to the set after the ad break, and said he and Beresford needed to engage ‘in a civilised manner given that we work at the same show on the same team’.
He added: ‘You launching into a pretty personally derogatory monologue on one of your colleagues probably isn’t one of the best ways to go about it.’
Morgan also went on to address criticism he received yesterday after seemingly casting doubt on Meghan’s claims to have felt suicidal. While doubling down on his ‘serious concerns about the veracity’ of her interview, he stressed mental health ‘should be taken extremely seriously’.
After the show ended Beresford tweeted what appeared a thinly-veiled dig: ‘I wish I had the privilege to sit on the fence.
‘In order for me to do that I would have to strip myself of my identity and that’s not something I can do. It’s not any of our places to pick apart claims of racism in order to make us to feel more comfortable.’
The fallout of Meghan and Harry’s sit-down with Oprah, that aired to British viewers on ITV last night, continues to dominate the news agenda this morning.
GMB aired a clip of the duke taking aim at the press, which kicked off a debate on the show.
Morgan argued the press performs a dual role of scrutinising the royals but also promoting their activities.
Beresford countered that most of the coverage of the Sussexes had been negative, before turning to address Morgan directly.
‘I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle, you’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme, a number of times,’ he said.
‘I understand you have a personal relationship with Meghan Markle, or had one, and she cut you off. She’s entitled to cut you off.
‘Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has. But yet you continue to trash her’.
At this point Morgan, 55, stood up and said: ‘Ok, I’m done with this. Sorry. You can trash me mate but not on my own show. See you later’.
As the GMB host marched off, Beresford persisted: ‘You know what that’s diabolical behaviour. That’s pathetic.
His colleagues watched in stunned silence as he continued, calling Morgan’s comments in yesterday’s show ‘incredibly hard to watch’.
‘I’m sorry but Piers just spouts off on a regular basis and we have to sit there and listen,’ he said.
Reid eventually interjected and took the show to an early ad break while tensions cooled.
On Twitter Morgan fended off suggestions he was a ‘snowflake’ – something he rails against regularly on GMB.
Guido Fawkes, the political blog, tweeted: ‘What a snowflake @piersmorgan turns out to be. If you dish it out, you’ve got to take it.’
Morgan replied: ‘Agreed. I was annoyed, went for a little cool-down, and came back to finish the discussion.’
He added that it was a ‘strong debate’ and so ‘worth a bit of GMB family tension’, but justifying his exit, said: ‘I just prefer not to sit there listening to colleagues call me diabolical.’
After the break, Morgan returned and said: ‘What we need to do Alex is talk to each other in a civilised manner given we work on the same show on the same team.
‘You launching into a pretty personally derogatory monologue on one of your colleagues probably isn’t one of the best ways to go about it.
‘As much as I’d like to sit here taking abuse from you, that’s not going to happen.’
Beresford shot back: ‘I’m not trying to come on this show and take you down. Just because we’re on the same side we have to have the same view.
‘This whole situation is very personal for me and I’m by no way, shape or form accusing you of being racist. I have the luxury of knowing you on and off screen and we’ve had conversations, I know where you stand on this and I have a great amount of respect for you, Piers.’
Morgan replied: ‘I wanted you on the show today because you sent me a really thoughtful and nuanced message about all this and I thought we could have a thoughtful nuanced conversation’.
Beresford then admitted: ‘I’m tired of finding a different way to explain not to you, but to so many people on why what has been said is so wrong.
He went on: ‘I’ve walked into institutions as the only person of colour and experienced covert and overt racism on so many occasions and why the Meghan interview really resonates with me is because an ex-work colleague – not on this show – asked me if I was worried about the shade of cocoa that my son was going to come out.
‘So I fully understand the hurt that is behind all of that.’
Morgan insisted he has not got a ‘racist bone’ in his body, saying he would ‘love’ if one of his children brought home someone from a different race.
Beresford said: ‘I don’t feel that you are a racist… but that’s why I just feel the stance you were taking on it yesterday was so strong I just felt it was slightly clouded because you’ve had an experience with her.’
The pair had rowed earlier in the week about the Oprah interview. Beresford tweeted: ‘You ever stop and think maybe you should give this woman carrying a baby a break?’
Morgan then replied: ‘You mean like she’s giving a 94yr-old woman a break as her husband lies in hospital?’ – a reference to the Queen and her husband Prince Philip.
The pair have locked horns before on air, including a similar debate about the Sussexes in January last year.
After returning to the set, Morgan also addressed his previous comments regarding the duchess’s mental health.
Yesterday, he was criticised by the charity, Mind, after saying he ‘didn’t believe a word she said’.
‘I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report,’ he added.
Today he addressed these remarks and said: ‘When we talked about this yesterday I said as an all encompassing thing I don’t believe what Meghan Markle is saying generally in this interview and I still have serious concerns about the veracity of a lot of what she said. But let me just state for the record on my position on mental illness and on suicide.
‘On mental illness and suicide these are clearly extremely serious things and should be taken extremely seriously and if someone is feeling that way they should get the treatment and the help they need every time.
‘Every time. And if they belong to an institution like the Royal family and they go and seek that help they should absolutely be given it.
‘It’s not for me to question if she felt suicidal, I am not in her mind and that is for her to say.
‘My real concern was a disbelief frankly and I’m prepared to be proven wrong on this and if I’m wrong it is a scandal, that she went to a senior member of the Royal household and told them she was suicidal and was told she could not have any help because it would be a bad look for the family.
‘If that is true a) that person should be fired and b) The Royal family have serious questions that need to be answered.’
Several social media users voiced their views of the morning drama.
One said: ‘I feel there as always been conflict with Alex and Piers, especially when comes to racism topics, and Alex had opportunity to tell it as it is.
‘But Piers wasn’t expecting that. He doesn’t like hearing the truth about himself.’
A third said: ‘Well that was the most dramatic opening 15 mins of any GMB show I’ve seen…
‘To be fair, I think Alex was overly critical of [Piers Morgan], who for me has only ever offered a balanced argument of the Sussexes’ ”faults”. ‘
Although Beresford mostly presents the weather, he is sometimes invited to participate in discussions, and has done so previously for debates on knife crime and Black Lives Matter.
He first rose to prominence after interjecting in a discussion about knife crime – days before his cousin was tragically stabbed to death.
Nathaniel Armstrong, 29, was killed in Fulham, west London, on March 16, 2019.
Beresford said at the time: ‘No-one would have expected it, especially after I spoke out. You couldn’t make it up.’
Eleven days earlier Beresford intervened in a GMB debate with John Apter, chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, shouting across the studio from the weather booth that ‘prison doesn’t work’.
He was also vocal during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests.
The TV star, who was born to a white English mother and black Guyanese father, spoke of his own experiences with racism, dating back to when he was first called the N-word at just 11 years old while growing up in his hometown of Bristol.
Beresford tweeted after the show: ‘I wish I had the privilege to sit on the fence. In order for me to do that I would have to strip myself of my identity and that’s not something I can do. It’s not any of our places to pick apart claims of racism in order to make us to feel more comfortable.’