Good Morning Britain’s ratings took an embarrassing dive on the first Monday morning without Piers Morgan since he sensationally quit in a smash-hit final episode.
The ITV morning show has been left with a hole in its line-up after Mr Morgan – who transformed GMB from a ratings flop – stormed off camera during a heated on-air row over his criticism of Meghan Markle last Tuesday.
Yesterday, Ben Shephard – who traditionally co-hosts the show on Thursdays and Fridays – stepped into Mr Morgan’s empty chair alongside Susanna Reid.
But the show’s ratings took a hit, with its average viewers down by 255,700 compared to last Monday.
Yesterday’s show had just 1.3 million people tuning in at its peak – with an average of 895,700 viewers.
For comparison, one Monday prior – on March 8 – 1.9 million viewers tuned in to watch the panel react to the Megan and Harry Oprah interview which aired overnight. Its viewership averaged out at 1,151,400 million.
And yesterday’s views were also down on the Monday before that. On March 1, GMB’s peak viewers hit 1.7 millon, with an average of 978,000.
Good Morning Britain’s ratings took an embarrassing dive on the first Monday morning without Piers Morgan since he sensationally quit in a smash-hit final episode. Yesterday, Ben Shephard – who traditionally co-hosts the show on Thursdays and Fridays – stepped into Mr Morgan’s empty chair alongside Susanna Reid
The ITV morning show has been left with a hole in its line-up after Mr Morgan (pictured last week) – who transformed GMB from a ratings flop – stormed off camera during a heated on-air row over his criticism of Meghan Markle last Tuesday
Mr Morgan’s final episode last week was a ratings hit, beating BBC Breakfast’s viewing figures for the first time ever.
But the ratings rapidly dipped again following Mr Morgan’s departure, with Breakfast winning out over GMB on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Mr Morgan presented Good Morning Britain from Monday to Wednesday. Ranvir Singh covered his Wednesday slot last week following his resignation.
Britons last week voted Tipping Point presenter Mr Shephard, 46, the best replacement for Mr Morgan – with Bradley Walsh, Jeremy Clarkson and Alex Beresford the nest most popular choices.
It was during an on-air row with Mr Beresford that Mr Morgan stormed off last week.
Mr Morgan had declared the Duchess of Sussex’s incendiary claims to Oprah about the Royal Family ‘contemptible’ and said: ‘I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth’ on the show last Monday.
Mr Beresford accused him of unfairly ‘trashing’ Meghan, and branded him ‘diabolical’.
When Mr Morgan walked off screen, Mr Beresford continued: ‘I’m sorry but Piers just spouts off on a regular basis and we have to sit there and listen.’
Mr Morgan – who refused to apologise – later announced his resignation and tweeted his thanks to the GMB team, praising them for their ‘hard work and dedication’ that led to them beating their main breakfast TV rival.
At its peak, Tuesday’s episode of Good Morning Britain had 2.2 million viewers tuned in to watch Mr Morgan and co-host Susanna Reid. Its viewership averaged out at 1.29million.
Meanwhile, presenters Dan Walker and Louise Minchin on the BBC’s morning show Breakfast pulled in no more than 1.8 million viewers at its most-popular – with an average of 1.25million.
But on Wednesday, GMB’s views plunged again with its peak number of viewers standing at 1.8million – and an average of 1.2million.
Breakfast, on the other hand, had 2.3 million viewers at its peak and an average of 1.4 million.
Mr Morgan resigned from the daytime show after an on-air row with colleague Alex Beresford who criticised him for ‘continuing to trash’ the Duchess of Sussex
Mr Morgan had declared the Duchess of Sussex’s incendiary claims to Oprah (pictured) about the Royal Family ‘contemptible’ and said: ‘I don’t believe almost anything that comes out of her mouth’ in the show one day prior
A similar trend happened on Thursday – when GMB had an average of 932,000 viewers and Breakfast had 1.6 million – and Friday – when the averages stood at 856,100 for GMB and 1.47 million for Breakfast.
Those figures, coming at the end of such a dramatic week for GMB, were up on the previous Thursday and Friday.
Shares in ITV also plunged in the wake of his resignation with almost £200million wiped off the company’s value overnight and share prices dropping by 3.8 per cent.
Desperate viewers are now calling for ITV to reinstate Mr Morgan, with online petitions demanding his return topping 250,000 signatures.
Mr Morgan, however, is said to be in a £10million bidding war with TV bosses both in the UK and the US.
A TV insider said a bidding war is now on to secure the services of Mr Morgan, who is also Editor at Large for MailOnline.
Yesterday, Mr Morgan’s wife journalist Celia Walden shared a picture of the morning show host with a vaccuum cleaner in the family’s west London home
Journalist Celia Walden – who has been married to Mr Morgan for more than 10 years – shared a picture of the morning show host with a vaccuum cleaner in the family’s west London home
The source told The Mirror: ‘He has had millions of pounds worth of offers. He turned GMB into a ratings hit, it seems everything he touches turns to gold.
‘Some of the offers have hit the £10million mark, and it seems he may be able to land exactly what he wants.’
Mr Morgan issued a tongue-in-cheek reply to a story about the reported bid, writing on Twitter: ‘Only 10?’
Yesterday, Mr Morgan’s wife journalist Celia Walden shared a picture of the morning show host with a vaccuum cleaner in the family’s west London home.
She sarcastically captioned the post: ‘I want it all done by the time I get back from work. Also, you missed a bit.’
Ms Walden – who shares nine-year-old daughter Elise with Mr Morgan – shared the picture shortly after yesterday’s Good Morning Britain episode ended at 9am.
Mr Morgan’s final episode last week was a ratings hit, beating BBC Breakfast’s viewing figures for the first time ever, prompting Mr Morgan to thank the ‘hard work and dedication’ of the production team. But the ratings rapidly flopped again following Mr Morgan’s departure, with Breakfast winning out over GMB on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (pictured)
Desperate viewers are now calling for ITV to reinstate Mr Morgan, with online petitions (some pictured) demanding his return topping 250,000 signatures
Meanwhile, signatures on five petitions calling for Piers to be reinstated on Good Morning Britain have now reached more than 250,000.
Morgan ruled out a return to Good Morning Britain but called the petitions a ‘pleasant surprise’.
One titled ‘BRING BACK Piers Morgan!’ had 48,981 signatures this morning.
It accused ITV of treating him ‘appallingly’, claiming: ‘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 titled ‘Save Piers Morgan from being sacked from GMB’ had a similar 47,877.
A third called ‘Keep Piers Morgan on GMB for his common sense approach to life’ had a massive 150,682. Two other petitions’ total signatures stood at 2,626 and 1,470.
ITV is said to be interested in the BBC‘s Victoria Derbyshire as Mr Morgan’s replacement.
Derbyshire – who appeared on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity last year – currently presents the news for the BBC after her award-winning current affairs programme was axed last March.
A source told the Sun: ‘ITV producers have been looking for the right platform for Victoria for a while.
‘They think she is a real talent and one of the few opinionated TV journalists who could be a real powerhouse addition to GMB.
‘She’s not afraid to challenge guests, ask tough questions, get straight to the point and wax lyrical about what she believes in.
‘They’re using Piers’ exit as an opportunity to trial new faces.’
ITV are said to be interested in replacing Piers Morgan with the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire as petitions urging the channel to reinstate him on Good Morning Britain reach 250,0000
Good Morning Britain has lost 500,000 viewers since Piers Morgan quit the show on Tuesday
Piers tweeted that GMB had beaten ratings for BBC Breakfast in the ratings on his final day
There were more than 41,000 complaints received by Ofcom – the UK’s communications regulator – over Mr Morgan’s comments on Meghan, including one from the Duchess herself following the clash.
Meghan is said to have raised concerns with ITV about the effect Piers’s comments may have on the issue of mental health generally and those attempting to deal with their own problems.
But Mr Morgan later repeated his condemnation of her interview when 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.’
Mr Morgan – who had been on the show for five years – recently responded to the soaring petitions on Twitter by writing that although the support came as a ‘pleasant surprise’ he will not be returning to GMB.
He said: ‘I won’t be going back, but thanks to everyone who has signed these petitions. Normally, people start petitions to have me fired or deported, so this is a pleasant surprise.’
In a 332-word statement shared on Instagram, the tough-talking journalist thanked his supporters and declared he was ‘willing to stand my ground’.
In a statement, Morgan thanked supporters and declared he was ‘willing to stand my ground’
He wrote: ‘To all my supporters, I just wanted to drop you a note of thanks. (To all my haters, whatever.)
‘It has been an extraordinary week for me, for Britain, for our monarchy and for our future.
‘Those of you that know me well enough know that, despite my many faults, I’m always willing to stand my ground for the things that I think matter most.
‘My fervent opposition to the Iraq War led to my demise from the Daily Mirror. My outspoken views on the insanity of American gun laws led to the end of my time at CNN.
‘And now I’ve lost my job at Good Morning Britain because I chose not to apologise for disbelieving Meghan Markle’s claims in her interview with Oprah Winfrey.’
He added: ‘I thus became the latest ”victim” of the cancel culture that is permeating our country, every minute, of every hour, of everyday. Though of course, I consider myself to be neither a victim, nor actually cancelled.
‘However, I do believe the defence of free speech and the right to express honestly held opinions, is the most important issue of my career, and the most important issue in British society.’
Sources at ITV have said that Piers ‘will continue to make programmes for the channel’, according to iNews.
This is likely to include his popular celebrity interview programme, Life Stories, which has been on air since 2009.
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