Back in March, Piers Morgan marched off the GMB set after a discussion about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ’s bombshell Oprah interview, and his comments that day has led to Good Morning Britain becoming the most complained about show of 2021.
Over 57,121 people lodged complaints with television watchdog Ofcom over Piers' comments which is the highest number in their history.
During his last appearance on GMB, Piers walked off the set after an on-air spat with weatherman Alex Beresford and he later resigned.
His resignation came after Piers said he 'didn't believe a word' of what Meghan was saying during her Oprah interview, and he cast doubt over her claims that she had harboured suicidal thoughts when living in the UK.
His comments prompted thousands of people to complain to Ofcom, who also received 5949 complaints about ITV's showing of the Oprah Winfrey interview itself.
It registered another 7,082 about Channel 5 show Celebrities: What Happened To Your Face?, making it the second most complained about show of 2021 so far.
Channel 5 later announced it had pulled the documentary that featured the appearance of reality star Charlotte Crosby. After hearing about the show, ex Geordie Shore member Charlotte shared a lengthy statement on Twitter, branding it “immoral and insensitive”.
“Dealing with trolls is one thing, you ignore, you block,” she wrote. “BUT where are we as a society when the trolls are the mainstream TV channels?
“Will they now take responsibility for my dip in mental health and my plummeted self-esteem? Do they take responsibility for the resulting press from the show, again discussing how ‘shocking’ my face is?”
The GMB programmes which aired on March 8 and 9 beat the previous record of 44,500 set in respect of Shilpa Shetty’s 2007 appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.
The mental health charity Mind was “disappointed and concerned” about the comments made. “It’s vital that, when people reach out for support or share their experiences of ill mental health, they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy,” said a spokesman.
It later emerged that Meghan also made a formal complaint to Ofcom, raising concerns about the effect Morgan’s views may have on mental health generally and those attempting to deal with their own problems – not about the attack on her.
ITV announced Morgan had “decided to leave” the show, shortly after Ofcom said it had launched an investigation under its harm and offence rules, having received more than 41,000 complaints in two days.
Morgan later claimed to be the victim of “cancel culture”.
*In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie
