Ofcom has received more than 100 complaints after Good Morning Britain featured a man promoting gay conversion therapy, which has been branded “ITV sanctioned hate”.
Dr Michael Davidson, a Christian counsellor, was booked on the show, which promoted his view by tweeting it with the words: “Any thoughts?”
Stonewall chief executive Ruth Hunt tweeted the decision to feature him left her “increasingly thinking that Stonewall needs an early morning crew just to respond and counteract early morning ITV sanctioned hate”.
Peter Ruddick, a producer of GMB rivals BBC Breakfast, said he would resign if Davidson were booked on his show.
He said GMB had done because “they want social media outrage, newspaper column inches” and “because they can’t get the ratings”.
“I won’t be silent on this,” he added.
At 10.30am, just three hours after the segment aired, an Ofcom spokeswoman said the regulator had received 103 complaints so far and were assessing them.
When someone suggested it was good to air these views and allow people to “hang themselves by their own rope”, Ruddick said: “These views are not news. They do not need to be legitimised by being aired.”
Hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid challenged Davidson, who claims he was gay and is now straight.
Morgan said the evidence Davidson cited to support his view was from “waccy baccy scientists in America” and challenged him to “prove to me that you’re straight”.
Davidson’s appearance followed another controversial GMB edition on Monday, when Morgan clashed with trans model Munroe Bergdorf and said of transgender rights: “Why can’t we let boys be boys and girls be girls?”
Bex Stinson, Stonewall’s head of transgender inclusion called it “a disgusting anti LGBT onslaught”.
GMB has been contacted for comment but had not responded when this article went live.
Davidson also appeared on the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live in July, when he appeared on a debate about transgender issues.
He appeared alongside transgender journalist Juno Dawson. Amid the anger about his GMB appearance, Dawson said she was “mortified and felt hijacked”.
She added the SML producers later said they “didn’t know his background”.