Good Morning Britain Press Pack

Good Morning Britain Press Pack November 2015 Good Morning Britain Strictly embargoed un>l 17th November 2015 Piers Morgan joins the Good Morning Britain presen0ng team from Monday 23rd November 2015. The journalist and TV presenter will co-­‐host with Susanna Reid three days a week from Monday to Wednesday. Ben Shephard will present two days a week with Susanna Reid and Kate Garraway. Also on the Good Morning Britain presen0ng team are CharloNe Hawkins, Sean Fletcher, Ranvir Singh, Laura Tobin, Richard Arnold and Dr Hilary Jones. Neil Thompson, editor of Good Morning Britain, said: "Piers joining GMB is a circle of life moment -­‐ we first met thirty years ago this month when I had to mentor him on a local newspaper, where I was the junior reporter and he was the fresh-­‐faced intern -­‐ he's learnt a bit since then, so have I. "Piers and Good Morning Britain are a great fit. Both have got bags of confidence and self-­‐belief, both are established popular brands who know how to connect with an audience -­‐ a formidable presenter joining an exis0ng outstanding on-­‐screen line-­‐up.” Good Morning Britain brings viewers the latest breaking news, along with daily sport and weather reports, human interest stories, entertainment and showbiz news. Piers Morgan Are you looking forward to joining the Good Morning Britain presen>ng team? Piers Morgan: I’m very excited by the thought of just how irrita0ng Susanna is going to find me a^er a few months, yes. How will you cope with the (very) early mornings? Susanna has a nap in the aJernoon, is that something you might do? PM: Sleeping’s chea0ng. I’ve spent the last decade flying around the world with permanent jet-­‐lag and my three-­‐year-­‐old daughter’s erra0c nocturnal paNern has ensured that 4am starts will seem like a lie-­‐in. What is your morning rou>ne? PM: I usually wake very early, make tea, Yorkshire Gold, (as recommended by Sir Patrick Stewart), watch morning TV (GMB and its rivals, to check what they’re all up to), check TwiNer for the mountain of praise that pours in for me every night (!) from my 4.6 million followers, read the papers (I get five delivered) and take my liNle girl to school. What do you usually have for breakfast? PM: Porridge and/or Marmite (my favourite brand, obviously) on toast. Will you have to start going to bed early and will you stop going out in the evening? PM: I will be very disciplined. Asleep by 2am, and no more than two boNles of red wine. How do you think your presen>ng style will fit in with the exis>ng team? PM: I think it’s fair to say I will provide a rather different energy and style to the others! Some days I expect this to work very well, other days I expect it will be a total train-­‐wreck. Either way, it will be joyfully unpredictable. Can you describe your co-­‐host Susanna Reid in three words? PM: Fabulous, funny, feisty. How would you describe yourself in three words? PM: Modest, marvellous, misunderstood. Susanna keeps apple and peanut buRer in the Good Morning Britain studio to eat during programme breaks. What snack will you keep in the studio? PM: A Big Mac and large fries. Live TV always makes me starving. How would you describe your rela>onship with Susanna? PM: Work in progress. I love her, she finds me very hard work… What do you think makes a good on-­‐screen partnership? PM: Good chemistry, and you can’t fake it. When we did that week together, I think we both ended up enjoying it more than we thought we would. We had a natural good cop, bad cop rapport which seemed to work well. Is there one person you would really like to have as a guest on the show? PM: Jack Nicholson, but I don’t think he’s got out of bed before midday in 50 years. Who has been your most memorable interviewee? PM: The Dalai Lama. He’s never had a drink, cigareNe, drug or sex, nor does he watch TV, movies, or even listen to music. He just reads and meditates. We’re so alike it’s ridiculous. Is there one person who you would love to interview? (alive or dead) PM: Sir Winston Churchill would have been great on the sofa at 7am, chomping his cigars and taking everybody down. Do you prefer repor>ng on hard news or soJer features? PM: I enjoy both. Most people do. I find people who are either too serious or too frivolous equally annoying. How do you think the Bri>sh TV audience differs from the US audience? PM: I think my gun control campaigning goes down slightly beNer over here than it did in America! Susanna R eid Are you looking forward to Piers joining the Good Morning Britain presen>ng team? Susanna Reid: Yes I’m looking forward to it very much. I think it’s going to be interes0ng and unpredictable. He is an excellent interviewer, he really takes interviews by the collar and shakes out interes0ng and unexpected nuggets. How do you think he will cope with the (very) early mornings? Do you have any >ps for him? SR: He’s done a week on Good Morning Britain already and he came in bright-­‐eyed and bushy tailed each morning. He has a three-­‐year-­‐old daughter and liNle children love an early morning, so he’s had some prac0ce over the last few years. He doesn't look like he needs any 0ps but mine are; don’t linger in bed once the alarm has gone off, coffee is your friend and have a nap in the a^ernoon. What was it like presen>ng with Piers earlier this year? SR: It was different, fun, unpredictable, compelling and a good prac0ce run. When you’re presen0ng with Piers you never know what might happen and that’s part of the fun. What do you think makes a good on-­‐screen partnership? SR: Good on-­‐screen partnerships are impossible to predict but I'm lucky enough to have built good friendships with Ben and Kate who I regularly present with and I think that's part of it. As for Piers, viewers seemed to like the rela0onship we instantly had on-­‐screen. I’m not even sure how to describe it yet, Piers has called me a rock and I say he’s here to rock the boat! How do you think Piers’ presen>ng style will fit in with the exis>ng team? SR: Good Morning Britain has already got a great, well-­‐established team and Piers will add a liNle bit of extra spice to the mix. Can you describe Piers in three words? SR: A mini tornado. He blows into the studio causing chaos so I’ve put the ‘mini’ in to puncture his ego a bit. How would you describe yourself in three words? SR: I found it hard to do that so I asked my kids and one of my sons said, ‘appreciates every moment’ which I liked. What is your morning rou>ne? SR: When you work on a programme that starts so early the morning rou0ne begins the night before. I read all the briefs just before bed0me, watch the news and talk to the editor before I go to sleep. Lights off by 9.30pm, up at 3.10am, have a shower, get dressed, jump in a cab, read the papers. I also double-­‐check the briefs and any changes in the car. The programme mee0ng is at 4am, hair and make-­‐up at 5am and then in the studio at six minutes to six. What do you usually have for breakfast? SR: Breakfast is a banana in the mee0ng at 4am, and then plenty of coffee, and apple and peanut buNer at about 6.30am in the break while the programme is on air. What have been your stand out moments from Good Morning Britain over the last year? SR: I would say being in Afghanistan just before Bri0sh combat troops were pulled out was a stand out moment. Also doing the ice bucket challenge with Ben live on air, doing the Tough Mums challenge with the whole team and mee0ng the fi^y inspira0onal viewers. What interviews have really stood out for you? SR: The interviews that really stay with me are the ones with people who have found themselves in the news because they have lost someone close to them. The quiet dignity of Lyn Rigby, the mother of soldier Lee Rigby, and Kevin Wells, father of Holly Wells, affected our viewers deeply. I’ve also done interviews with the main poli0cal leaders, talking about the cost of the weekly shop with Labour Leader Ed Miliband, interviewing the Prime Minister just before the elec0on, along with speaking to some of the biggest showbiz names on the planet such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, BeNe Midler and Barry Manilow. Is there anyone you’d really like to have on Good Morning Britain that hasn’t been on yet? SR: Michelle and Barack Obama! Whenever they would like to do an interview they are very welcome on the Good Morning Britain sofa. Kate Garraway How do you think Piers Morgan will cope with the (very) early mornings? Do you have any >ps for him? KG: Well when he did that week earlier this year he was asking for advice on that. He’s got a very young daughter so I think he’s used to disturbed nights. The thing about early mornings is that it’s always painful when the alarm clock goes off. I’ve been doing it for 20 years now and it’s s0ll agony when the alarm clock goes off. But the thing is when you get up and come into work then it’s such a brilliant job to do, that you get swept along with it and you also have that great feeling of when you finish work that you’ve got the day ahead of you. I think it’s going to be interes0ng to see whether he gives up his partying in the evening or not! Are you looking forward to having a new addi>on to the Good Morning Britain presen>ng team? Kate Garraway: I’ve known Piers for years now and obviously he is a brilliant journalist but also he has so much energy and throws his heart and soul into everything he does. I think it’s going to be amazing working alongside him and also he is really good fun socially so I’m looking forward to a few very long lunches as well! What have been your stand out moments from Good Morning Britain over the last year? KG: Tough Mums was amazing -­‐ I did everything I could to get out of it because I do not consider myself either brave or fit but in the end I was talked into doing it by Susanna and the others and then I had the most amazing 0me. Everyone taking part was just so fantas0c and it was just a really good, fun exercise and I think the adrenaline from it all just meant that we were all buzzing for days. What has been your most memorable interview? KG: I think my most memorable interview ever was being at the Oscars a few years back which is a crazy night anyway, everyone is trying to get the aNen0on of the stars and I saw Tom Hanks and he came over and was really nice. We chaNed away on air and at the end of it he said, ‘I beNer go because I need to get into the official party’ and he said, ‘I’m starving’ and I said, ‘so am I’ and he said ‘I’ll bring you a doggy bag’. And he did. He came out a^erwards with some food for me and the crew and that just confirmed for me he was one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met and such an extraordinary thing to remember to do that. Is there one person who you would love to interview? (living or dead) KG: I would love to interview Hilary Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. Hilary Clinton, who a lot of people don’t like, I think is fascina0ng as she is so powerful, and Oprah Winfrey who millions adore is equally strong and powerful and I think they’d both be fantas0c to interview. Ben Shephard How do you think Piers Morgan will cope with the (very) early mornings? Do you have any >ps for him? Ben Shephard: He ran a na0onal newspaper so I'd imagine he preNy much re-­‐wrote
the book on working late and star0ng early – I’m looking forward to gerng some 0ps! That said I hope he's banking sleep right now and has a loud persistent, and preferably unbreakable alarm clock which won't smash when he throws it against the wall to turn it off at 3am! What is your morning rou>ne? BS: It’s efficient! Alarm goes, jump out of bed, shower, dress and get going. I tend to wake up around the 0me the first of many cups of tea hits the spot. What have been your stand out moments from Good Morning Britain over the last year? BS: The launch show was incredibly exci0ng, a^er all the planning and prepara0on and hard work by the team, it was great to finally be on air. Being in Edinburgh for the result of the referendum was a great experience, waking up to the news of the result and talking through the reac0on from both sides. Broadcas0ng live from Buckingham Palace was also a real privilege -­‐ the Queen was home too which certainly added an extra dimension. I hope we cleared up properly for her?! What has been your most memorable interview? BS: We don't have a week go by without interviewing someone memorable. Very o^en it's not the poli0cians, the film stars or musicians but parents like Joanne and Dan Thompson who set up a charity and a campaign a^er they lost their liNle girl Millie. Is there one person who you would love to interview? (living or dead) BS: As a West Ham fan I would love to have met Bobby Moore -­‐ he li^ed the World Cup and captained my team during a very different era for footballers, it would be great to get his take on how they live now! Press Contact: Sarah Gaffney Sarah.gaffney@itv.com 0207 827 7063 Pictures: Peter Gray 0207 157 3046 Peter.gray@itv.com