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.’
Kate Garraway
Presenting Thursday’s ITV show, Garraway said of her former colleague: ‘He is very passionate. He does fly kites and have debates but it always comes from a place of authenticity.
‘He always believes in what he says.’
She added: ‘He’s left. He’s decided to quit and, as he put it himself, fall on the sword of free speech.’
Garraway, whose husband Derek Draper is in hospital after being admitted with coronavirus last year, said her friendship with Morgan ‘will go on’, adding: ‘He’s been very supportive of me personally.’
And she said of the future of the ITV programme: ‘It’s a different show but the show goes on.’
Ben Shephard
Co-host Ben Shephard told viewers: ‘It’s crucial that we all appreciate and understand that right now, particularly in the middle of a pandemic… that the debate about mental health and concern for people… is something that we take very seriously and is hugely important to all.’
