Susanna Reid addressed the departure of Good Morning Britain co-host Piers Morgan on Wednesday morning saying the show will be “very different”.

Piers Morgan’s decision to quit was shared on Tuesday night by ITV, hours before he was supposed to join Susanna on the show.

Morgan left following a backlash against his incendiary comments about the Duchess of Sussex and her headline-making interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Before leaving the show, Morgan had stormed off the set following a heated discussion with his colleague, Alex Beresford, about the duchess.

Reid, opening Wednesday’s programme, addressed her former co-star’s leaving and nodded to his often divisive presence.

She said: “A number of people will know the news and many of you will not and will be surprised that Piers Morgan is not here this morning.

“Now, Piers and I have disagreed on many things and that dynamic was one of the things viewers loved about the programme.

“He is without doubt an outspoken, challenging, opinionated, disruptive broadcaster.

“He has many critics and he has many fans. You will know that I disagreed with him about Meghan’s interview. He himself clarified his comments about her mental health on the show yesterday.”

Reid said there are “many voices” on Good Morning Britain and “everyone has their say”.

She added: “But now Piers has decided to leave the programme. Some of you may cheer and others may boo.

“He has been my presenting partner, Monday to Wednesday, for more than five years and during Brexit and the pandemic and other issues, he has been a voice for many of you and a voice that many of you have railed against.

“It is certainly going to be very different but shows go on and so on we go.”

Ranvir Singh, Reid’s co-presenter for the morning, replied: “Well said.”

She described Morgan as a “big character” and said “many viewers will be absolutely gutted”.

Singh called Morgan “Marmite” and acknowledged his role in Good Morning Britain’s success.

His decision to leave the show comes as Ofcom launched an investigation into comments made by Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan flowing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview.

His remarks sparked a wave criticism with the TV watchdog receiving more than 41,000 complaints since Monday morning’s instalment of the ITV show.