Good Morning Britain presenter Adil Ray has announced he’ll have an inflated role on the show in the coming weeks, following Piers Morgan’s departure last month.
Adil – who has served as a relief presenter on GMB since 2018, filling in during school holidays and other absences – announced on Saturday night that he would be serving as an anchor on the daytime show throughout April.
He told his Twitter followers: “Some news for you… I will be co hosting @gmb throughout the whole of April Mon to Weds, starting this Monday with @kategarraway and with @susannareid100 after the hols.
“I would love for you to make it your daily wake up if you fancy it!”
Despite Adil stepping up for the rest of April, we would assume he probably won’t be made a permanent fixture on GMB – for the time being, at least.
Despite the highly controversial nature of Piers’ GMB exit, ITV chief Kevin Lygo recently suggested the divisive presenter was irreplaceable on the daytime show.
“Piers is a special thing. You can’t replace somebody like him. There is nobody like Piers, for good or bad,” Lygo said.
He also said the existing roster of presenters would be “stepping up and doing a few more days than they would have done” in Piers’ absence, adding: “We’ll mix and match until we feel what the right thing is to do. There isn’t a single person [who can replace him].”
Quite how Piers would feel about having Adil occupying his former seat remains to be seen, as the two famously clashed on Twitter in 2019 when the latter made a joke about the former while guest hosting Have I Got News For You.
“You know what?” Adil joked at the time. “The best thing about standing in for Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain is that you don’t have to meet Piers Morgan.”
Piers hit back the following morning, claiming: “For my part, the best thing about Adil filling in for me is he always tanks the ratings.”
When Piers then took the matter onto the airwaves, insisting there’d be “no more Adil Ray”, Susanna Reid then hit back: “Adil, you’re a very welcome addition to the programme. We like you.”
Good Morning Britain airs every weekday from 6am on ITV.