IT is a saga that has gripped the nation: what next for Piers Morgan?
The journalist quit his role as presenter of ITV's Good Morning Britain on Tuesday over remarks he made which cast doubt on a statement by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during her Oprah Winfrey interview.
Meghan spoke about being denied help with mental health issues after joining the Royal Family and how she experienced suicidal thoughts while pregnant.
A recap, please.
During the headline-making interview, which aired in the US on Sunday night and then in the UK a day later, Meghan stated that she had felt like she "didn't want to be alive anymore".
On Monday's Good Morning Britain, Morgan said he "didn't believe a word" of it. His comments sparked 41,000 complaints, leading to an Ofcom investigation.
Then came a heated on-air clash with weather presenter Alex Beresford about the issue on Tuesday, which resulted in Morgan storming off set. At teatime, ITV released a statement which said Morgan had "decided now is the time to leave Good Morning Britain" and it had "accepted this decision".
That was the end?
Don’t be daft. This is merely round one. Ding, ding, ding.
Some are hailing it as a victory?
Yes and no. Amid the joyous cheering there came a resounding thud as ITV shares fell almost five per cent on Wednesday, wiping close to £200 million off its market value, following Morgan's departure. You can picture him grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
What is the man himself saying?
Morgan claimed his sole goal when he joined Good Morning Britain was to beat BBC Breakfast in the ratings. He tweeted: "On my last day, we did it." The irony that many viewers tuned in to enjoy the schadenfreude of watching him flounce off, was either lost or blithely ignored.
He's a polarising figure?
Not half. Just ask Jeremy Clarkson. The pair have had some legendary skirmishes from a rumble on the last ever Concorde flight in 2003 to a drunken altercation at the British Press Awards a year later, where The Grand Tour presenter punched Morgan.
Have we seen the last of Morgan?
Unlikely. He has reinvented himself almost as many times as Madonna. Lest we forget that in 2004 Morgan was fired as Daily Mirror editor after publishing faked Iraqi prisoner abuse photographs.
A decade later, he was axed by CNN after losing his US audience following a series of lectures over gun control.
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Morgan is the Weeble that wobbles but won't fall down, a cat with nine lives or the proverbial bad penny depending on your stance.
What's next?
There's already talk that Morgan is being courted by Andrew Neil for GB News. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can. It won't last.
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