It is routinely watched by millions of early rising Brits, but ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain has been named as the most complained about show on British television.
The show, which airs for three hours every morning from Monday to Friday, has recorded a staggering 91,890 complaints between 2021 and 2024.
Astonishingly, more than half of those complaints stem from one instalment, during which former host Piers Morgan eviscerated Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle over her notorious interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Morgan was apoplectic after Meghan and Prince Harry made several allegations about the Royal family during the two hour sit-down with Winfrey – among them the unsubstantiated claim that unnamed Royals fretted over how dark her son Archie’s skin might be when born.
The Duchess also claimed she felt trapped as a working Royal and even struggled with suicidal ideation, telling Winfrey: ‘I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought. And I remember how he [Harry] just cradled me.’
Morgan later dismissed her claims while dissecting the interview on Good Morning Britain, with the episode drawing 57,973 complaints as a result
It is routinely watched by millions of early rising Brits, but ITV breakfast show Good Morning Britain has been named as the most complained about show on British television
The show recorded a staggering 91,890 complaints between 2021 and 2024, with half of those stemming from a stem from one instalment, during Piers Morgan eviscerated Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle over her notorious interview with Oprah Winfrey
He was later cleared by Ofcom of breaching broadcasting rules after the Duchess of Sussex was among a wave of people who complained that his questioning of her claims was ‘harmful’ and ‘offensive’ to viewers.
The UK’s broadcasting watchdog later called attempts to silence the MailOnline columnist a ‘chilling restriction on freedom of expression’.
But the presenter would soon leave the ITV studio following a heated on-air disagreement with Alex Beresford about the interview, never to return.
He was later cleared by Ofcom of breaching broadcasting rules after the Duchess of Sussex was among a wave of people who complained that his questioning of her claims was ‘harmful’ and ‘offensive’ to viewers.
The UK’s broadcasting watchdog later called attempts to silence the MailOnline columnist a ‘chilling restriction on freedom of expression’.
The second most complained about TV show was Love Island, with 66,252 complaints recorded over the same four year period.
Viewers were particularly irked by an August 6, 2021 episode, during which Faye Winters launched a drunken tirade against boyfriend Teddy Soares.
The pair had an explosive argument after the islanders were played a clip of Soares telling another contestant, Clarisse Juliette, who had since been eliminated, that he was attracted to her.
Morgan later dismissed her claims while dissecting the interview on Good Morning Britain, with the episode drawing 57,973 complaints as a result
Viewers were particularly irked by an August 6, 2021 episode, during which Faye Winters (far left) launched a drunken tirade against boyfriend Teddy Soares
The unsavoury incident prompted 24,763 complaints from fans unhappy with ITV producers for failing to step in.
Elsewhere, Emmerdale was the most divisive about soap with 2,405 recorded complaints, while Coronation Street came second with 1,348 complaints.
With 210,000 complaints across a five year period, British broadcasting giant ITV is the most complained about channel.
A TV insider told The Sun: ‘Everything from soaps to dating shows to reality TV shows can prompt a surprising backlash.’
