Piers Morgan made a playful return to breakfast television four years after his dramatic Good Morning Britain exit, appearing as a guest on rival BBC Breakfast to promote his new book "Woke Is Dead". The 60-year-old presenter couldn't resist taking cheeky swipes at his former competitors during Monday's interview.
Morgan briefly took over host Ben Thompson's presenter chair, joking: "Don't worry Ben, I've got this, they wanted somebody a little bit younger, a little bit more handsome." He quipped about his five-year battle with BBC Breakfast, claiming: "I spent five years trying to destroy you two and your colleagues."
Honest admission about morning TV
Despite his return to the breakfast TV format, Morgan made a surprising confession about his time fronting Good Morning Britain. "I hated it, it's the honest truth," he admitted when asked about managing the early morning wake-up calls.
Morgan described the experience as "like having permanent jet-lag" and revealed he had negotiated his start time to 4:30am by the end of his tenure. "It is brutal," he told hosts Ben Thompson and Sally Nugent, adding: "You do two-and-a-half or three hours of live television, that takes all the adrenaline out and is really hard on the body."
Ratings rivalry and departure
The presenter claimed Good Morning Britain only beat BBC Breakfast in ratings once - ironically on his final day when he left the show. "I planted my flag of success and walked off, and you've never beaten me again, because I wasn't there!" he declared.
Morgan dramatically departed Good Morning Britain in 2021 after controversial remarks about Meghan Markle, storming off set during a live broadcast. The incident followed his questioning of the Duchess of Sussex's mental health claims during her Oprah Winfrey interview.
Missing former colleagues
Despite his harsh criticism of the early starts, Morgan expressed genuine nostalgia for his Good Morning Britain team. He particularly mentioned his former co-host Susanna Reid, who previously worked at BBC Breakfast, along with Charlotte Hawkins and other colleagues.
"You know what it's like, it's like having a family, so that I miss," Morgan reflected. "But the alarm calls, absolutely not!" When asked if the schedule drove him "mad in the end," he responded: "Yes I think we all go mad in the end, I think I did go slightly mad."
Sources used: "Mirror", "Bristol Post", "Daily Star" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
