Piers Morgan to leave GMB

It was obviously going to be Ben this morning with Susanna and probably will be for the foreseeable until someone permanent is found. I'm not sure why everyone's getting their knickers in a twist over this mornings rota. Obviously what happened last week was unexpected and GMB for now are just keeping things simple by having Ben in. They're hardly likely to bring in someone like Jon Gaunt to replace Piers at this stage.

Susanna and Ben outside studio with guest who wanted to be there in-person, just looks like brick wall.

Ben is a safe pair of hands which is probably why he’s been in TV for over 20 years.

Give them a chance, folks. The Piers departure was sudden and unplanned. Just like in any organization, the interim replacement will usually be from within. And today it’s Ben. It’s no biggie. He knows the job.

Even if they wanted to bring in someone else, negotiations and agreements take time and appearances are often planned weeks in advance because other people (Holmes, Madeley, Turnbull, whoever) have other commitments (personal commitments and work commitments).

Let’s give them some time, eh?

David, this post is bound to cause offence here.
You should have typed a disclaimer advising that other cereals are available...

Which other buttons could they press at this stage? Piers only left last Tuesday evening, following a immature on-air strop because a colleague (who he allegedly invited onto the main desk) expressed an opposing view earlier in the day.

They're hardly going to bring in another Piers-esque presenter in at this early stage, not just because of the short notice, but because they probably want to be 'safe' for a while after the unacceptable comments Piers made about Meghan.

Ben is a real professional, and he can challenge politicians in a respectful manner, which is an ability that Piers lacked. He has adapted to GMB's post-2015 format, and has improved as an interviewer. I don't think it's fair to call him dull.

Obviously there will be people that preferred Piers' style, but I most certainly did not. He was honestly a ticking time bomb. Something like this was going to happen at some point. If last week's events didn't occur, I'm sure something else would've done in the near future, as ITV clearly had no control over him.

I expect they will find a replacement for Piers, but I think they should stick with the team they have for now, whilst the dust settles. They will inevitably lose some Piers fans as viewers, BUT looking at social media comments, some new viewers are tuning into the Piers-less show.

Piers had become a parody of himself, you only need to see that from his early years interviewing on GMB.

"I am, without doubt, an outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive TV Forum member. I have many critics and I have many fans. There are many voices on TV Forum and everyone has their say..."

Regarding comments the show has quickly become GMTV/GMB 2015 -esque, I completely disagree. Serious issues are being discussed with appropriate guests, and the general tone is far more newsy than GMB was in 2015.

It seems, here and elsewhere, some are put off because the studio doesn't have the atmosphere of the Colosseum. God forbid a morning show can have a polite, respectful presenter.

The day's issues and guests' opinions are given time to breathe, and there's a little bit of banter thrown in every now and then - perfect at this time of day, for me.

The half hour I saw this morning was awful. An interview with a woman who took off her wig on Saturday night takeaway followed by an interview with Roger Daltrey.

That's only what you seen though. The show in its totality does cover news, had an exclusive this morning as well as the usual Minister interview.

Ben was always going to be the short term solution - whether he is the long term solution remains to be seen. Ideally they'd find someone who can partner with Susanna four days a week.

I suspect the next few weeks will just be the usual holiday cover but after Easter they may test some potential partnerships out with Susanna.