'GMB': Richard Madeley would consider becoming Piers Morgan's replacement despite trolls

Richard Madeley speaks to the media outside BBC Broadcasting House in central London following the death of veteran broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan.
Richard Madeley is open to discussions with Good Morning Britain about a full-time hosting job. (PA)

Richard Madeley has admitted he would consider becoming Piers Morgan's replacement on Good Morning Britaineven though it would mean subjecting himself to extreme trolling.

Former This Morning presenter Madeley, 64, has previously stood in for Morgan, 56, who quit GMB last month over controversial comments about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Madeley told Metro when asked about replacing Morgan, 56, full-time: "If the phone went and they said, ‘Would you come in and talk?’ of course I would talk to them. It would be bonkers not to.

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"But I very much like sitting in for people. I have all the fun and very little of the responsibility or flak."

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Morgan often faces a backlash on social media from those who disagree with his opinions – and has even received death threats,

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Richard Madeley co-hosting Good Morning Britain with Kate Garraway. (ITV)

But Madeley, who has been working on TV since the early 80s – said: "I personally couldn’t give a f***. Far too many younger presenters have been affected by Twitter and cowed by it."

He recalls sitting in for Morgan previously, checking Twitter after the broadcast had ended to find he'd been subjected to 'horrendous abuse' including the occasional death threat. However, he says he tends to not take death threats seriously as they generally come from 'sad losers', and has yet to report any to the police.

Piers Morgan hosting Good Morning Britain with Susanna Reid. (ITV)
Piers Morgan hosting Good Morning Britain with Susanna Reid. (ITV)

"If anyone reads this and thinks, ‘Right, well, I’ll have a go,’ by all means do, because I won’t be reading it and even if I did, I wouldn’t give a tuppenny damn."

Since Morgan walked out on the ITV show in early March his co-anchor Susanna Reid has been joined by various presenters in his place. This week Adil Ray has filled the roll.

Morgan and Reid were known for their on-screen chemistry, often disagreeing over subject matters, and Reid would calm tensions in the studio after Morgan went on a rant.

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Madeley presented This Morning with wife Judy Finnigan, 72, from its launch in 1988 until they departed to host their own Channel 4 chat show in 2001.

The couple were similarly known to clash amicably on screen and for Finnigan to step in when Madeley got riled when expressing an extreme opinion.

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