He might not be everyone’s cup of morning coffee, but Piers Morgan has helped bring in a substantial amount of new viewers since he joined ‘Good Morning Britain’ in 2015.
However, the presenter has now revealed that he actually quit the ITV morning show last year because the early starts were “killing” him.
He told Radio Times: “I actually quit in the summer. I said, ‘I’m out,’ because I couldn’t do it anymore. Then we came to a new arrangement, which is great. I feel completely different.”
That new arrangement means the 52-year-old now starts work at 5.30am, rather than 4am, although he admits his female co-presenters, including Susanna Reid, still start earlier.
He explains: “The only reason, really, I had to go in so early was because the female stars all have to. It takes them longer [to get ready] because they get more attention and pressure on how they look, how their hair is and everything else.
“I’m lucky – five minutes of slap and on I go… I said, ‘Does anyone really care if I come in at 5.30 and we just have a catch-up on the phone?’ Which is what we now do.”
Last year, Piers admitted the early starts meant he constantly felt unwell.
He told The Mirror: “It’s killing me before my very eyes. It’s the least healthy existence imaginable.
“Your immune system gets crushed, you pick up every bug going, I’ve basically been ill for the entire 18 months in some form.
“You have about 18 breakfasts before midday, so everything is terrible about it except the show itself.”
However, at the time Piers insisted he would never quit ‘GMB’, but admitted it might not be long before it finished him off completely.
“I’ll stay ’til death. If I die, it won’t continue much longer. But my body is certainly screaming in pain at the moment,” he said.
While Piers has proved to be a divisive figure among ‘GMB’ viewers, last year ratings increased by 17% over the previous 12 months, with the show now attracting an average of more than a million viewers.
However, it is still trailing rival show ‘BBC Breakfast’, which remains the nation’s most-watched breakfast TV show.
Read the full interview with Piers in this week’s Radio Times. www.radiotimes.com