Piers Morgan was axed from hosting ‘Good Morning Britain’ this week because he appears in a National Lottery advert.
The former CNN host had been due to cover for regular presenter Ben Shephard from Monday (13.07.15) until today (15.07.15) but ITV were forced to draft in Kate Garraway as strict rules about conflict of interest mean a star cannot present a news programme while making money from advertising at the same time.
A source said: "Piers was a great success when he last appeared on GMB and there have been ongoing discussions about him doing another stint.
"We arranged for him to stand in for Ben Shephard for the first three days this week, but then we realised he had accepted a big-money deal from the Lottery.
"If someone is presenting a news programme they can’t also appear in adverts. Those are the rules."
While he missed out on this week’s show, ‘GMB’ bosses are still keen for the 50-year-old star to return in the future.
The source added to The Sun newspaper: "Relations with Piers are still really amicable. He completely understood our position and we are really keen to get him back on the show in the near future.
"He’s a great presenter, so he’s always welcome — as long as he hasn’t got any ad work on!"
The lottery advert has been airing for the last two weeks and sees Piers playing a self-obsessed version of himself, wanting to launch a tourist attraction known as ‘Piers’ Pier’.
A narrator says at the end of the commercial: "Anyone can win the Lotto. Please don’t let it be him."
Piers Morgan axed from GMB over ad
