Piers Morgan To Take Break From TV With 'Mild Coronavirus Symptoms'

Piers Morgan has said he will be temporarily stepping back from presenting Good Morning Britain after developing a “mild” coronavirus symptom.

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The programme will be hosted by ITV presenter Ben Shephard alongside Susanna Reid as Morgan waits for his test results, which are due on Monday.

Morgan said in a tweet on Sunday night he had had a test and will be stepping back from presenting duties “on medical advice, and out of an abundance of caution”.

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This week, Morgan was cleared of breaching TV watchdog Ofcom’s rules after attracting more than 3,000 complaints over his “combative” questioning of Helen Whately, the social care minister, in two interviews.

During an animated interview, he asked Whately how many health workers and care workers who had died from the illness. She accused him of “shouting at me and not giving me a chance to answer your questions” and “attempting to score points”.

Morgan defended his approach, saying it was not as “uncomfortable” as the conditions for the carers on the front line of the coronavirus crisis.

Almost 600 viewers also complained about another interview, with the health secretary, Matt Hancock, on 16 April, who accused him of constantly interrupting him.

Morgan has also attracted positive publicity in recent weeks, as one of the famous faces taking on the 2.6 challenge that replaced the London Marathon, and raised money for struggling charities last Sunday.

A host of star names, including Sir Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and David Haye went through a workout, led by Morgan, in aid of the Ruth Strauss Foundation.

The former England cricket captain’s wife died in 2018 at 46 from a rare lung cancer, the charity founded in her name backs medical research and supports families going through a similar experience.

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