Alex Beresford: who is the GMB presenter, what did he say about Meghan Markle - and why did Piers Morgan storm off?

Tensions were running high on the set of Good Morning Britain in the wake of the UK airing of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.

GMB presenter Piers Morgan stormed off the set during a live broadcast this morning (9 March) after guest Alex Beresford slammed the former journalist for “trashing” Meghan Markle.

Morgan faced criticism for his comments about the couple’s sit-down with Oprah - in which the Duchess revealed how her mental health had steadily deteriorated amid negative press.

In the wake of the interview, Morgan had previously said on the show that he “didn’t believe a word she said, Meghan Markle, I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report”.

But Beresford had heard enough.

What did Alex Beresford say to Piers Morgan?

During Meghan and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah, the Duchess made several revelations about the Royal family and its workings from her experiences in England.

Meghan detailed how the treatment she received when joining the Royal family led to her having suicidal thoughts to the point she was afraid to be left alone without Harry.

Speaking on GMB, Beresford said that the couple have had “an overwhelming amount of negative press”.

“I watched the programme yesterday and yes, they had some great press around the wedding but everything that has followed since has been incredibly damaging to Meghan’s mental health and to Harry.”

Turning his attention to Morgan, Beresford said: “I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle.

“You’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme, and I understand that you had a personal relationship with Meghan Markle and she cut you off. Has she said anything about you after she cut you off? She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. And yet you continue to trash her.”

It was at this point Morgan stormed off set, saying: “Okay, I’m done with this.”

Beresford continued: “Do you know what? That’s pathetic. This is absolutely diabolical behaviour. I’m sorry, but Piers spouts off on a regular basis and we all have to sit there and listen – 6.30 to 7 o’clock yesterday was incredibly hard to watch.”

Morgan later returned to the set as the discussion continued.

Who is Alex Beresford?

Beresford is a television presenter and weatherman at ITV who has occasionally locked horns with Morgan in the past.

Recently he claimed he had never watched one of Morgan’s Life Stories shows to which the GMB presenter replied: “To be fair, I’ve never watched his weather reports.”

It follows a series of jibes between the two co-stars which have sometimes been humorous and other times leaving viewers bemused at their needless remarks towards each other.

Morgan claims Beresford is “far from the greatest weatherman of all time” to which Beresford replied “well the great news is that Piers is not here tomorrow”.

Beresford has long been associated with presenting the weather on numerous programmes since 2005, when he started off at The West Tonight.

He has remained with ITV, presenting on Daybreak before his stint on GMB in which he has stood in as a guest presenter from 2020 in the absence of Morgan.

Beresford has branched out in recent years as a contestant on a handful of reality TV shows including Dancing on Ice, The Chase: Celebrity Special, and Ninja Warrior UK.

The Bristol native, aged 40, has a son Cruz with ex-wife Natalia Natkaniec and runs a Diversity School Tour Project visiting inner-city schools to talk about media careers.