TV veteran Richard Madeley says he’s ready to replace ‘big beast’ Piers Morgan ahead of his GMB debut but insists he’ll only take the job if it’s “fun”.
The 65-year-old host is currently the frontrunner by the bookies to fill Piers’ chair alongside co-host Susanna Reid and will be back on the show as a guest next month.
Ahead of his appearance on GMB, Richard told The Sun that it’s a “good show to do” and that he feels he suits it and it suits him.
Talking about taking the position full-time Richard said: “I’ll go in, I’ll fill in, I’ll enjoy it and I hope they ask me back. But in terms of sitting in for Piers, it’s a completely open question.”
He added: “Whether I’m going to be asked to take over, I have no idea. I have had no approach at any level formally or informally.”
(Image: ITV)
Richard has admitted that it has to be fun for him to take on a role, as he’s “turned down a lot of stuff” previously, as it “sounds too much like hard work”.
He went on: “My attitude is easy come, easy go.
“I don’t have a career plan. I’ve turned down a lot of stuff because I think, ‘This sounds too much like hard work’. It’s got to be fun.
(Image: Press Association)
He added: “Judy and I did 21 years together on This Morning then on Channel 4 and you feel you haven’t got anything else to prove.”
When asked about ex-Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell’s debut on GMB last week, Richard told The Sun that he thought he “did very well”.
Richard said: “I thought he did very well.
“I think ITV are taking their time. It’s a big loss losing Piers.
“He’s a big beast to suddenly disappear from that jungle and they’ll want to be sure the permanent replacement will work.”
Piers left GMB in March this year after he refused to apologise about comments he had made about Meghan Markle, following the interview she and her husband Prince Harry did with Oprah Winfrey.
In a column written earlier this year, Piers shared the moment he realised the situation was more serious than he thought, he said: “Oh s**t. This must be more serious than I thought. Mid-afternoon, Kevin Lygo, ITV’s Director of Television, who I’d spoken to several times since yesterday, rang to say we were now ‘on the cliff edge’ and either I apologised, or I would have to leave GMB.
“And even if I did apologise, that wouldn’t be the end of it. The woke brigade would keep coming for me, demanding I apologise for everything else they find offensive – which of course, is absolutely everything.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
