Lorraine Kelly has addressed Piers Morgan’s Good Morning Britain exit, branding him “extraordinary” and a “loyal friend” in the wake of his departure.
The Scottish presenter, 61, appeared on GMB alongside Susanna Reid and Ranvir Singh, reflecting on Piers’ reputation as an outspoken and opinion-dividing host.
Piers, 55, announced he was leaving the role on Tuesday amid an Ofcom investigation into his coverage of Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Over 41,000 viewers contacted the watchdog to complain about Monday’s GMB, which saw Piers at one point claim he didn’t “believe” anything the Duchess of Sussex had said in the interview.
Lorraine discussed Piers’ exit from Good Morning Britain on Wednesday’s show
Lorraine said GMB was “very quiet, very calm” without Piers in the studio.
She said: “Tell you what, he will be missed. I know that Piers divided opinion, there was that marmite factor.
“Yes, it will be a lot quieter and a lot calmer. He brought something quite extraordinary to breakfast television, that’s for sure.”
Branding Piers as a “loyal friend,” she went on: “Anybody that’s ever been in trouble that needed his help, he has been there.”
Piers announced he was leaving GMB on Tuesday evening (Image: ITV)
Lorraine spoke out about Piers’ announcement on Tuesday’s The One Show, as host Rylan Clark-Neal asked her about the broadcaster’s decision to step down.
He asked: “But we can’t not discuss the news which has just broken in the last half hour, that one of your ITV Daytime colleagues, Piers Morgan, he’s decided to step away from GMB.
“Am I right in saying this was the first you heard of it as well?”
Lorraine said: “To be honest, he did actually email me about 20 minutes ago, so that was the first that I’d heard of it.”
Lorraine Kelly broke her silence on Piers Morgan’s departure from GMB on yesterday’s The One Show (Image: BBC)
The ITV star, whose documentary Return To Dunblane is set to air later this month, was due to appear on the morning news programme alongside Piers to promote the doc the following morning.
She added: “No real details, just saying – I thought I was going to see him because I was actually going to go on GMB to talk about the documentary and he said: ‘No, I’m gone.’ He just said he’s away.
“It’s certainly going to be quieter.”
Announcing his departure, a statement released by ITV read: “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.”
Speaking out on his exit, Piers shared an image of his late manager, John Ferriter, hours later, saying: “He’d have told me to do exactly the same thing.”
Good Morning Britain airs on weekdays at 6am on ITV.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
