Piers Morgan was refused a hug by his former co-host Susanna Reid and took a swipe at Alex Beresford when he returned to Good Morning Britain for the first time in nearly four years.
The TV presenter stormed off the ITV morning programme in March 2021 following an explosive row with Beresford about Meghan Markle.
Morgan left the studio and subsequently left the show after saying he did not believe claims made by the Suits actress during her and Prince Harry’s Oprah Winfrey interview, which became the most complained-about episode in Ofcom history.
On Monday morning, he rejoined Reid and Ed Balls on the show to discuss his experiences with US president Donald Trump.
Morgan interrupted Reid before she launched into the interview, saying: “Hang on, are we just going to ignore the fact I haven’t been here for 1,453 days?”
He then tried to give Reid a hug, which she initially rejected, saying: “No, I don’t want a hug.”
After Morgan encouraged her, the pair shared an air hug and kiss, which prompted laughter from Morgan.
Former MP Balls then offered to hug Morgan, saying: “We don’t mind hugging.”
After the moment, a fan joked on X, “Piers waited 1,453 days to not get a hug from Susanna,” to which he replied: “I got one afterwards…”
During his GMB appearance, Morgan also remarked to Reid that she had “moved on so fast” to a new co-presenter, to which she replied: “I’ve got a couple of new husbands now.”
Balls assured Morgan that she did not hug him either, to which Reid responded: “No, I don’t do hugs, as you know.”
Launching into her interview, she continued: “I’ve locked horns with you, Piers Morgan, on many occasions, but you have locked horns with President Trump.”
Morgan went on to reveal that he had had a phone call with Trump on Friday ahead of the US president’s clash with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday.
He said Trump had been in an “upbeat mood” on the call where they had discussed numerous topics including Ukraine.
The presenter said: “I’ve had screaming matches with him, literally, and then an hour later, we’re laughing and joking, doing a fun interview…
“So I always think with him, focus on what he does, not what he says, or the general drama and chaos.
“And secondly, understand that this is almost uniquely in modern times, a Republican president in America who wants peace, not war.”
At the end of their interview, Reid and Morgan began to butt heads again as he advised Balls to stop wearing ties, as he said that in the YouTube area he was now in, ties were the “enemy”.
Balls replied: “Piers, as you know, I always do what the editor wants.”
To which Morgan quipped: “Or what Susanna tells you to do, bad for her brand if you take the tie off.”
She said it had “nothing” to do with her and pointed out the exit to him, saying: “There’s a door there. I’m not sure if you recognise it Piers?”
The camera then panned to Lorraine Kelly, who said it was “good to have [Morgan] here.”
Morgan quipped, “All we need is Alex Beresford, we’ve got the whole family!” prompting Kelly to burst out laughing.
Morgan stormed off the show in 2021 after weather presenter Beresford, 44, challenged him for saying he didn’t believe Markle suffered from suicidal thoughts.
'Focus on what he does, not what he says'
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 3, 2025
Long-time friend of Donald Trump, Piers Morgan, weighs in on the press conference between the US President and Volodymyr Zelensky last week. @piersmorgan says 'Trump wants peace not war.' pic.twitter.com/R2YiCnYyMw
He said: “I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle; you’ve made that so clear a number of times on this programme. I understand that you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle or had one and she cut you off.
“She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has but yet you continue to trash her.”
In response, Morgan retorted while walking off: “I’m done with this. Sorry. You can trash me, mate, but not on my own show. See you later, can’t do this.”
He quit later the show later that day. The episode received 54,595 complaints and it emerged that Markle had made a formal complaint to ITV about Morgan.
The media watchdog later ruled that GMB was not in breach of the broadcasting code over Morgan’s comments but said they were “potentially harmful and offensive”.
