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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Jessica Sansome

Piers Morgan confirms first ITV appearance since storming off GMB set in Meghan Markle bust-up with ratings dig

He's been away from ITV for more than a year but Piers Morgan has confirmed he'll be returning to the network this week for the first time since his 'Markle Debacle' - but it won't be a return to the Good Morning Britain studio.

The controversial presenter and journalist confirmed the news on Twitter on Wednesday (April 20), telling his millions of followers that he'll be joining Lorraine Kelly on her self-titled show on Thursday (April 21) for a sit down chat ahead of launching his brand new show.

Piers is preparing to help launch fledgling news channel TalkTV. The channel will launch with shows from the former Life Stories host, Sharon Osbourne, and Tom Newton Dunn on Monday, April 25. He has previously said that he wants his show, Piers Morgan Uncensored, to "annoy all the right people" and "cancel that cancel culture which has infected societies around the world".

READ MORE: Fans want action as Piers Morgan shares private message from Susanna Reid after he called out his 'work wife'

Confirming his ITV return, Piers tweeted alongside a photo of himself on Lorraine previously: "BREAKING: I’ll be returning to ITV tomorrow for first time since the Markle Debacle… live & definitely uncensored on ⁦@lorraine with the fabulous @reallorraine."

He then issued a dig at his former employers by adding: "Should be fun… (may even storm back onto ⁦@GMB while I wait, & get those ratings back up.)"

His return to ITV comes after he reignited his feud over his GMB exit. Earlier this week Piers said his departure from ITV over comments about the Duchess of Sussex was a "farce". The 57-year-old left the breakfast news show last March after he clashed with weather presenter Alex Beresford over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, causing him to storm off the set.

He received a huge backlash to comments he made about Meghan Markle following her explosive, tell-all interview with Oprah, saying he didn't believe some of the serious claims she made about her mental health during her time as a working royal. Then, on the following day's episode of GMB, Piers became embroiled in a heated debate and Alex confronted Piers over his comments, telling him his behaviour towards Meghan was 'absolutely diabolical'.

Piers' comments attracted more than 57,000 complaints to Ofcom. Six months later, in September 2021, the broadcasting watchdog said Piers' comments were “potentially harmful and offensive” but ruled the ITV show was not in breach the broadcasting code and he was cleared of the complaints.

Piers' last time on ITV saw him storm out (ITV)

All that appears to be in the past now as Piers prepares to launch his new show. He shared a look at the fancy new studio where he'll broadcast the weeknight programme from, writing on his Instagram, Morgan said: "My new Piers Morgan uncensored studio. Concept by @errongordon & design by @fenhagen. Looks brilliant – couldn’t be happier."

The studio concept was created by TalkTV executive director Erron Gordon, formerly the launch director for both Good Morning Britain and Peston on ITV. The show will also air on Fox Nation in the US and Sky News Australia.

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