Andrew Neil was reportedly in tears as he said he was close to having a breakdown over GB News.
The veteran broadcaster, 72, has broken his silence over his controversial exit from the channel, which he helped launch in the summer.
Earlier this month, following much speculation over his absence on screen, he confirmed that he had resigned as chairman on GB News.
Initially, the channel said that Neil would continue to appear as a guest on the show as part of his exit settlement.
Yet, last week, Neil tweeted that he "couldn't be happier" that he wouldn't be returning as he accused GB News of breaking the settlement "by briefing Mail on Sunday with load of smears/lies then unilaterally cancelling exit deal".
Neil has now revealed that he knew that he wanted to leave by the end of the first week of the channel going on air.
He told the Daily Mail : "I came close to a breakdown. It was terrible, it was terrible."
Recalling the technical blunders and glitches, he branded it a "disaster" and said that it "went from bad to worse".
He said: "Live TV is stressful at the best of times but not knowing whether or not the technology would work… It just got worse and worse. At one stage, we were waiting to go on air and the whole system went down. It had to be rebooted and we only managed it with 15 seconds to spare.
"That stress was just huge. It meant you couldn’t think about the journalism. You were just constantly wondering: 'Will we make it through the hour?' By the end of that first week, I knew I had to get out. It was really beginning to affect my health. I wasn’t sleeping. I was waking up at two or three in the morning."
Neil said that he had a "constant knot in [his] stomach]" thinking about GB News. After deciding to walk away from his £4million contract, he and wife Susan agreed to finance it by selling their apartment in New York
He also claimed he repeatedly raised "red flags", but that other board members agreed with chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos.
The anchor continued: "The reason I am quite emotional is that I’m angry. I thought after ten years at the Economist, 11 years at The Sunday Times, the launch of Sky Television and Sky News, ten years as publisher of The Scotsman and, for 25 years working to become the BBC’s premier interviewer, GB News would be the final big career move and then I’d pack it all in.
"I am angry. I’m also quite unforgiving of this chief executive and the board. They are the ones who put me through this – the disrespect.
"Why pay me all that money? Why make me chairman? Why make me lead presenter and then just not listen?"
A spokesperson told the publication that GB News did not agree with Neil's account, writing: " At no point did Andrew raise concerns of the editorial direction of GB News moving to the right. As with all companies, decision-making rests with the board, and GB News is no different. As a member of the board, Andrew had the same rights and abilities to raise concerns, and he was privy to all decisions.
"The launch date of GB News was set to accommodate Andrew’s own travel plans. Indeed, contrary to management’s wishes, it was Andrew who insisted the launch date be announced, failing which he refused to travel to London for it. At no time did Andrew ask to be executive chairman and at no point was this offered to him. He was always a non-executive chairman.
"The board allowed Andrew time off over the summer to recharge his batteries. He subsequently asked to leave and the board agreed to this request. The terms of his departure were properly negotiated and documented, with Andrew taking legal advice throughout.
"The fact that he has chosen to ignore these terms and make his departure unnecessarily contentious and public is a decision he will have to live with."
