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OUT WITH A BANG
Good Morning Britain hit by 90 Ofcom complaints in three days as Piers Morgan leaves show for summer break
GOOD Morning Britain has been hit with 90 Ofcom complaints in just three days as Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid leave the show for the summer.
The broadcast regulator received 56 complaints on June 30 following a show which saw Piers hit out at BBC Breakfast's Dan Walker for not being hard enough on Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
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Venting about his rival's line of questioning on the Government's coronavirus testing, Piers said: "Get in there Walker, for goodness sake, man! He’s talking complete nonsense. What does he mean?"
But it was the way Piers was perceived to have made "derogatory" comments about Government ministers that prompted the majority of the complaints.
His frustration with the Government has been building after it decided to boycott GMB 72 days ago following a series of bruising interviews with Tory ministers.
The following day the programme picked up a further 28 complaints after Piers drank a pint of beer live on air before 7am during a report about the easing of lockdown rules.
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And on July 2, 11 people complained about Piers's alleged bias against a US couple who brandished guns as a Black Lives Matter group walked past their mansion.
The Missouri couple defended their actions by claiming to be acting in self-defence after feeling threatened by the 300-strong crowd that broke into a gated community to march on St Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's residence.
Piers and Susanna Reid "signed off for the summer" yesterday, with the Good Morning Britain presenters admitting it had been a "very long year".
The pair ended the episode with a montage of their best moments from the past few months ahead of their lengthy summer break.
It even played up the nicknames a troll had given the pair, Shouty and Pouty, which Piers has taken ownership off admitting that he "loves" the moniker.
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Before showing the video montage, Piers thanked the crew at ITV for their hard work in a difficult 2020.
He said: "Behind the scenes at GMB there is this enormous team of people all of whom have been working unbelievable hours a lot of self sacrifice.
"Not seeing families and as we all go off from a break - I think we probably all need a break from each other.
"But I want to say a big thank you, I know Susanna will too, to all the GMB behind the scenes.
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"I think we have produced some of the best television journalism that anyone has done in this pandemic, and it's down to this team behind us."
Piers continued: "Our brilliant team upstairs decided to commemorate this - because we thought we look like a couple of hot detectives at the top of our game."
The clips played up to the Shouty and Pouty nicknames, and ended with 49-year-old Susanna telling her co-star: "You for one need to pipe down."
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Returning to the studio, Piers said: "Well we are going to pipe down, because it's been a very long year and we are going to take a little break.
"We want to thanks viewers for all the feedback you've given us, a lot of good feedback or the not so good feedback.
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"But you know what, we take all feedback, that's why we live in a democracy - we're allowed to have an opinion."
In a final sign-off, the divisive star said: "Thank you to the viewers, have a good summer, try and get a break. It's been a tough time for everybody. Shouty and Pouty are off."
Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid mock troll nickname Shouty and Pouty with pretend TV show credits
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