BBC reminds 'GMB's Piers Morgan that 'BBC Breakfast' is 'most watched' as he vows to win ratings battle

The BBC has stepped in after Piers Morgan vowed that Good Morning Britain was going to beat rival morning show BBC Breakfast in the ratings for the first time.

BBC Breakfast is currently ahead of its ITV rival but Morgan is confident that GMB’s time is coming.

He told The Sun he thinks his show has “captured the zeitgeist and mood of the country a lot better than BBC Breakfast”, where the on-air team includes Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty.

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"The key to our success is that we can't be ignored,” said the presenter, who joined GMB in 2015.

"Whether you love us or hate us, we debate all the issues that people in this country are debating amongst themselves.”

"I think it's very likely we will overtake them in the ratings by the end of the year which will be an extraordinary achievement,” he said.

“You can see that there's real movement now. They're not moving, and we're moving relentlessly upwards."

Sharing The Sun’s story on Twitter, the TV star wrote: “Wow.. Yesterday, as @GMB hit a record ratings high of 28% audience share, we were up 170k viewers & 6 share pts year-on-year. And @BBCBreakfast was down 166k viewers & 5 share pts.

“This piece in @TheSun was perfectly timed. We're taking them down, one viewer at a time…”

However, the BBC Press Office stepped in with figures of their own to contradict his claim.

As tweet from the official account read: "These @BBCBreakfast figures might make awkward reading for some: - 80m live stream requests on @BBCiPlayer (up 56%), - Audience share of 42%, - Average daily reach of 5.7m.

"Thanks for tuning in to the UK’s most watched Breakfast programme…"

Daily Mirror TV critic Ian Hyland also poured cold water on Morgan’s bold claim.

Referencing The Sun’s headline “Love us or hate us, you can’t not watch us”, he tweeted: “Unless you’re one of the 2 million or so who always watch BBC Breakfast instead. Or the 60 million or so who don’t watch breakfast telly at all.”

He then added: “For reference, the most recent audience share is 40% for #BBCBreakfast and 23% for #GMB. If anything, Piers and Susanna are slipping back behind.”

Morgan has often tweeted about the ratings battle.

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In October, he told his followers on the site: “BREAKING: Massive ratings for @GMB⁩ yesterday. 2nd highest in show’s history & UP by 28% year-on-year, ⁦@BBCBreakfast⁩ DOWN by 2%.

“Thanks for watching!”

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