Kate Garraway speaks out after Piers Morgan’s Good Morning Britain departure following Meghan Markle comments

Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway has broken her silence after Piers Morgan stepped down from presenting the ITV show following comments about Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex. His departure came after Morgan left the GMB set after a discussion about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry became heated. 

ITV went on to later confirm in a statement: "Following discussions with ITV, Piers Morgan has decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain. ITV has accepted this decision and has nothing further to add."

GMB host Kate Garraway has now appeared on the show for the first time since Morgan's exit and addressed his absence. The pair have known each other for many years and Morgan has been very supportive of her during this past challenging year, throughout her husband Derek Draper’s battle with Covid-19. 

Appearing on GMB on Thursday, Kate addressed Morgan’s absence as she opened the show with co-host Ben Shephard. 

More from woman&home: 

• Best pillow - for a comfortable, pain-free night’s sleep whether you’re a back, side or stomach snoozer
• Best air purifiers - improve air quality in your home with our pick of the top models
• Best blenders - make smoothies, soups, sauces and desserts with blenders for every budget

"That's the thing about Piers, isn't it, he's very passionate, he does fly kites and have debates but it always comes from a place of authenticity. He always believes in what he says. And he's left,” Kate said.

"He's decided to quit and as he put it himself, fall on the sword of free speech. But as you rightly say, I've known him a long time, before he started working on this programme. 

"Our friendship will go on, our personal friendship, and he's been very supportive of me personally. But yeah, it's a different show, isn't it? But the show goes on."

What did Piers Morgan say about Meghan Markle?

Morgan shocked Good Morning Britain viewers this week as he stated he does not believe Meghan Markle, who opened up to Oprah Winfrey about her struggles with her mental health in the first few years after marrying Prince Harry. 

On Tuesday morning, Morgan argued with weather presenter Alex Beresford who told off Morgan for continuing to "trash" Meghan. Following the disagreement between them, Morgan walked off set and did not return for 10 minutes. 

Since his exit, Morgan has taken to social media to defend his comments about the Duchess of Sussex. In the caption of a recent Instagram post, Morgan wrote: 'On Monday, I said I didn’t believe Meghan Markle in her Oprah interview. I’ve had time to reflect on this opinion, and I still don’t'.

ITV announced that Ofcom has launched an investigation after it received more than 41,000 complaints about comments made by Morgan about Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview on Good Morning Britain. 

This comes as it’s been reported that Duchess Meghan has filed a complaint and was concerned about the way his comments could affect the issue of mental health.