Yahoo News Good Morning Britain's Susanna Reid Left 'In Shock' By Piers Morgan Drama
Susanna Reid has reflected on Piers Morgan storming off the set of Good Morning Britain six months ago, and subsequent departure from the show.
Back in March, Susanna was hosting GMB when Piers was called out by colleague Alex Beresford live on air following his recent comments about Meghan Markle, having cast doubt on claims she’d made about her mental health in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The confrontation led to Piers storming off the set, and when it was announced that Ofcom would be launching an investigation over his remarks, he confirmed that he had stepped down as co-anchor of the show.
Discussing the debacle for the first time in an interview with the Daily Mail six months later, Susanna has admitted the incident left her in “shock”.
“It felt surreal as Piers got up and left,” she recalled. “I went out to talk to him; we had an animated discussion. I don’t remember what I said, it’s all a bit of a blur now, but back he came.”
Susanna continued: “I didn’t think he’d really leave the show. That was definitely another shock. The whole thing was intense, raw and emotional. Piers had been the person I’d sat alongside and forged a successful partnership with for five years.
“I thought, ‘Woah! What happens next?’ He was controversial, outspoken, stimulating and provocative. So there were going to be reverberations for me and the show.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Susanna said that while she’s yet to meet up with Piers in person, they have been in regular contact over the phone and via text.
Ofcom has since announced they have cleared ITV over Piers’ remarks, with Susanna admitting she felt a bit “awkward” discussing the matter live on air.
“On the one hand I’ve got my friend Piers Morgan,” she said. “And on the other hand I’ve got my bosses at ITV. So this is obviously a slightly awkward moment, right now.”
She also admitted that Piers’ final two days at GMB had been “very challenging” for her personally.
In the past six months, Piers has made a number of seemingly conflicting comments about the nature of his GMB exit, first insisting his departure was “amicable” and that it was his own decision to leave, and later blaming “cancel culture” for him “losing” his GMB role.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Piers will not be invited back to GMB despite Ofcom’s ruling, with the divisive presenter insisting he wouldn’t return even if he were asked – unless ITV were to apologise to him publicly.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
