Piers Morgan has announced he is joining Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Fox News Media in a global deal, launching a TV show on the upcoming station talkTV in early 2022 – his first new TV role since his dramatic departure from Good Morning Britain in March.
He will also join The Sun and the New York Post as a columnist.
Piers teased something was coming on Thursday morning in a cryptic tweet of a clock ticking.
Speaking about his new job, Piers said: ”I’m thrilled to be returning to News Corp. which is where I began my media career more than 30 years ago. Rupert Murdoch has been a constant and fearless champion of free speech and we are going to be building something new and very exciting together.
“I want my global show to be a fearless forum for lively debate and agenda-setting interviews, and a place that celebrates the right of everyone to have an opinion, and for those opinions to be vigorously examined and challenged.
“I’m also delighted to become a columnist for The Sun and the New York Post, two brilliantly successful and popular newspaper brands.
“I’m going home and we’re going to have some fun.”
Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman of News Corp, said: “Piers is the broadcaster every channel wants but is too afraid to hire. Piers is a brilliant presenter, a talented journalist and says what people are thinking and feeling.
“He has many passionate fans around the world and we look forward to expanding his audience in the UK, at FOX Nation, Sky News Australia, The Sun and the New York Post.”
News of Piers’ new job comes the day after he won the Best News Presenter award at the annual TRIC Awards.
Piers was up against his former Good Morning Britain co-host Susanna Reid in the category, and the pair were reunited for the first time since he left GMB at the bash.
After winning the award, Piers invited Susanna on stage during his acceptance speech.
“I felt it was right to share with Susanna,” he said. “I haven’t seen Susanna since I left so it was very emotional.
“You get very close to someone when you work that closely together. Not many men have seen Susanna Reid at 5am in her curlers.”
Piers’ new job and TRIC award win comes after 18 months of controversy for the presenter.
While his GMB interviews with various cabinet ministers throughout the pandemic earned him praise for holding the government to account, he has also repeatedly come under fire for his comments about various public figures, namely Meghan Markle.
After the Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this year, Piers cast doubt on a series of claims made by Meghan, including those about her mental health.
These were widely condemned at the time, and led to more complaints being made to Ofcom about the broadcast than any other incident in the TV watchdog’s history.
Following this, Piers was called out on air by GMB presenter Alex Beresford, prompting the anchor to storm backstage during the live broadcast, and when Ofcom confirmed they would be investigating the matter that night, he announced his immediate resignation from the show.
Six months later, Ofcom ruled that ITV was not in breach of their guidelines by broadcasting Piers’ comments, pointing out that he was challenged by others on the show that day, including Susanna.
ITV has since said they “vigorously” defended both Piers Morgan and Good Morning Britain during Ofcom’s investigation.
Speaking at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention, ITV’s chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall said: “I will just say that we vigorously defended both the programme and Piers to Ofcom, and the reason we didn’t get pulled up by them is because of the programme making.”
McCall added: “[There’s] no way we wouldn’t be absolutely not just endorsing but championing freedom of speech and freedom of expression.”