Piers Morgan had a predictably shady good luck message for his former daytime TV rival Dan Walker, as the BBC Breakfast host prepares to head off to pastures new.
Throughout the five-year stint that Piers spent at the helm of Good Morning Britain, he and Dan were embroiled in a friendly(-ish) public feud that mostly revolved around their respective viewing figures.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Dan was stepping down from BBC Breakfast after six years, and would be heading off to Channel 5 to become lead anchor of their newly-revamped 5pm news bulletin.
Asked for his thoughts about Dan during a press event to promote his new TalkTV show Piers Morgan Uncensored, the divisive broadcaster joked: “Dan who? Hasn’t he gone to Channel 5 or something?”
Piers said: “He’s disappeared with his tail between his legs after [Good Morning Britain] beat him in the ratings.
“It’s actually quite priceless, we beat the BBC on my last day. So he could never do anything about it, he could never beat us again.”
“Anyway, best wishes to Dan,” the former Britain’s Got Talent judge noted, before pointedly adding: “Hope he enjoys Channel 5. Is that still on TV?”
Piers announced he was stepping down from GMB after five years in March 2021, the day after he made headlines for casting doubt on Meghan Markle’s claims she’d experienced suicidal thoughts during her time as a member of the Royal Family.
Having now fully parted ways with ITV, it was announced in September that he was joining forces with his former employer Rupert Murdoch, and had landed his own nightly show on the forthcoming station TalkTV.
Speaking last month, Piers said of the venture: “I’m delighted to now be returning to live television with a new daily show whose main purpose is to cancel the ‘cancel culture’ which has infected societies around the world.
He added: “I want it to be a platform for lively vigorous debate, news-making interviews and that increasingly taboo three-letter word: fun. I also want it to annoy all the right people.”
Piers Morgan Uncensored will launch on TalkTV at 8pm on Monday 25 April.