Good Morning Britain staff 'threatened to boycott the show' after hearing Piers Morgan was in talks to return as a guest.
A year after storming out live on air over a spat with weather presenter Alex Beresford, 41, over Meghan Markle, 40, the former co-host, 57, was keen to appear to promote his new series.
But when the team heard he was being lined up for a return, some warned they would "down tools".
ITV bosses hastily came up with a compromise - they made him a guest on Lorraine Kelly 's show instead.
One insider commented to The Mirror: "Piers has made it quite clear what he thinks of GMB since he flounced out.
"Barely a day goes by without him sniping that ratings are down, and that he was the best thing about the show."
"So it's no surprise there are some who felt reluctant to promote his new gig and threatened to stop working if he came on. There's also a lot of loyalty for Alex," they said.
Morgan walked out in March last year after a heated exchange with Alex, who was outraged the 57-year-old didn't believe Meghan's claim she had felt suicidal.
ITV bosses later axed Piers from the show when he refused to apologise for the comments. He has since claimed his decision to walk out was to avoid "slapping" Alex.
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ITV sources insisted it was an "editorial decision" to have the former GMB host on Lorraine and played down threats of a walkout.
One said: "They have enjoyed a 30-year friendship and also presented on GMB together so it was thought to be a good fit."
The journalist's new show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, launched on Monday night on TalkTv with the interview featuring a premiere with Donald Trump.
Promoting his new show this week, Piers invited Meghan to a sit down interview with him, in an attempt to reconcile with her. He made the suggestion on the Diary of a CEO podcast.
The presenter he would ask her "difficult" questions if he was given the opportunity to interview her, assuring that he doesn't wish her or Prince Harry any "harm".
He said: "If she did an interview like this with me, it'd be very interesting. Meghan Markle to me has lost all sense of reality about life."
He added: "She needs to sit with someone like me, not an Oprah Winfrey enabling interview, fuelling your victimhood. She needs someone to give her perspective."
Prince Harry and Meghan sat down with Oprah for a tell-all interview about their split from the Royal Family last March, with the royal sharing she had suffered from "suicidal thoughts" and alleged that she was denied help from the Royal family during her private struggle.
Harry went on to claim that his father and brother, Prince Charles and William, are "trapped" in the institution of the monarchy.
Piers elaborated: "In answer to [the] original question; let's do an interview Meghan. Let me put [my] questions to you and [you] answer some difficult questions."
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