ITV bosses are reportedly considering a female co-host to replace Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain, if he doesn’t return to the show.
The presenter, 56, left GMB earlier this year after refusing to apologise for his remarks over Meghan Markle’s interview with Opera Winfrey.
Channel chiefs are hoping to make Susanna Reid their main presenter and hire a permanent co-host from their existing pool of talent – which could mean a second full-time female would front the show, The Sun reports.
New face of GMB? ITV bosses are reportedly considering a female co-host to replace Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain, if he doesn’t return to the show (pictured in March)
Since Piers’ departure from the breakfast show a number of presenters have taken turns co-hosting the programme, including Richard Madeley, Charlotte Hawkins, Ranvir Singh, Kate Garraway, Bill Turner and Alastair Campbell, among others.
And an insider told the publication: ‘It is very possible that we will have two women fronting the show. Susanna will take the lead, but the job of her co-host is up for grabs, and it will come down to who is most popular with viewers.
‘The attitude behind the scenes is there is no rush to find a replacement for Piers this year, the bosses want to make the right choice. They want to give lots of people a chance and, as time goes on, focus more on the most popular hosts.
Host? It’s been reported channel chiefs are hoping to make Susanna Reid their main presenter and a second full-time female could front the show (pictured Ranvir Singh and Kate Garraway)
Dramatic: The presenter, 56, left GMB earlier this year after refusing to apologise for his remarks over Meghan Markle’s interview with Opera Winfrey
‘The feeling is if Piers doesn’t come back, it’d be unfair to draft in a replacement straight away, both on Piers and his replacement.’
MailOnline has approached ITV representatives for comment.
Last week Piers claimed ITV bosses had been in touch asking him to return to GMB, telling The Sun he believes he could ‘take the ratings back to where he left them’ after a slump in viewing figures.
He said: ‘They reached out — there have been approaches. Never say never.
‘I have no doubt I could take the ratings back to where I left them — but the doubt is, would anyone be allowed to do it that way again?
‘I was hired to give very strong, honestly held opinions, which I did. But in the end I was asked to apologise for a genuinely held opinion.’
Previous presenters: Last week Piers claimed ITV bosses had been in touch asking him to return to GMB, and believes he could ‘take the ratings back to where he left them’
Existing talent: Laura Tobin and Charlotte Hawkins (both pictured on GMB in 2018) could be among the candidates considered to fill Piers’ empty chair
He added: ‘I have had some quite random third-party feelers put out to see if I would consider a return to the show.’
Piers stormed off GMB in March as he discussed the Harry and Meghan interview, where he expressed his belief that Meghan was lying during the chat with Oprah Winfrey and that the couple damaged the royal family’s reputation.
The outspoken host left the daytime series after he insisted he ‘didn’t believe a word’ of Meghan’s account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism at the hands of the royal family.
Piers then walked off set after a fierce debate with Alex, in which the weather presenter accused Piers of unfairly ‘trashing’ Meghan, and branded him ‘diabolical’.
When Piers walked off screen, Alex continued: ‘I’m sorry but Piers just spouts off on a regular basis and we have to sit there and listen.’
Quit: The outspoken host left the daytime series after he insisted he ‘didn’t believe a word’ of Meghan’s account of suffering suicidal thoughts and experiencing racism
Piers, who refused to apologise, later announced his resignation and tweeted his thanks to the GMB team, praising them for their ‘hard work and dedication’ that led to them beating their main breakfast TV rival.
And Piers shared his own reflections on the events of that fateful week in a piece for the Mail On Sunday shortly afterwards.
Piers called Alex ‘GMB’s occasional stand-in weatherman’ and ‘uptight’ in the telling account, adding that the presenter hasn’t messaged him since his exit unlike others on the show.
It comes as viewing figures for GMB’s show on Tuesday plunged to just 450,000.
Viewership for the ITV breakfast show has been in steady decline since Piers quit back in March, after peaking at 1.9 million viewers days before he left the show.
Tuesday’s GMB was hosted by Adil Ray and Ranvir Singh, with a small number of viewers watching following the May Bank Holiday.
A mere 450,000 viewers tuned into the programme, one of the lowest figure in the show’s seven-year history, and a far cry from the heyday when Piers was on the panel.
It was just twelve weeks earlier that GMB brought in its highest ever viewership, with a peak of 1.9 million viewers watching the panel react to the Megan and Harry Oprah interview which had aired overnight. Its viewership averaged out at 1,151,400 million.
The following day, March 9, an average of 1.29 million viewers saw Piers storm off GMB after clashing with Alex Beresford about the Meghan and Harry interview following its broadcast on UK screens.
Testing: It comes as viewing figures for GMB’s show on Tuesday plunged to just 450,000 (pictured Adil Ray with Ranvir)
That programme ended up being Piers’ last, as just hours later he announced he’d quit the show.
Following news that Piers had quit, the first show following his exit on March 10 saw ratings quickly take a hit, with an average of 1.24 million viewers watching Susanna react to her presenting partner’s exit alongside stand-in Ranvir.
Numbers continued to slide as the week went on, and by the week’s end ratings had slipped to just 850,000 viewers.
By Monday March 15, average viewers were down by 255,700 compared to the previous Monday.
Decline: Piers’ final episode was a ratings hit, beating BBC Breakfast’s viewing figures for the first time ever, prompting him to thank the ‘hard work and dedication’ of the production team