Richard Madeley replaced in Good Morning Britain presenter shake up hours after getting 2.3k Ofcom complaints
RICHARD Madeley has been replaced in a major Good Morning Britain shake-up hours after being the subject of 2,300 Ofcom complaints.
The former This Morning anchor, 63, returned to the ITV series this week – yet on Thursday’s episode, his seat had been filled by presenter Adil Ray, 49.
It came after the slew of letters sent to the broadcasting watchdog – as well as fans calling for his axe following an awkward interview on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain episode.
Instead, early-bird viewers were greeted by Adil and Kate Garraway, 56, as the pair announced the tragic news of a mass shooting killing at least 22 in Maine, America.
They also reminisced on Adil’s time living in Yorkshire, close to actress Jodie Whittaker.
Meanwhile, The Sun this week reported the thousands of Ofcom complaints directed towards Richard, who regularly hosts with Susanna Reid, 52.
Earlier this month, Richard was criticised and later apologised after asking the Liberal Democrats‘ British-Palestinian MP Layla Moran whether her family in Gaza knew of the Hamas terror attack in advance.
The breakfast show received complaints from a whopping 2,378 viewers.
Richard asked Layla Moran, Lib Dem MP for Oxford West & Abingdon: “With your family connections in Gaza, did you have any indication of what was going to happen ten days ago, two weeks ago?
“Was there there any word on the street?”
“Not this, not this”, the stunned MP replied.
A Good Morning Britain (GMB) spokesperson later said Richard’s intentions were to “understand the mood and atmosphere” in Gaza – not to cause upset.
A statement read: “Richard is sorry that he has upset viewers with his question to Layla Moran.
“His intention was to understand the mood and atmosphere amongst the civilian population of Gaza immediately before the attacks.
“He asked Layla about her family in Gaza City because she had discussed speaking to them earlier in the interview.
“He did not mean to imply that she or her family might have had any prior knowledge of the attacks.”
It comes after he was criticised for his “disgusting” questioning of the son of a Hamas kidnapping victim on Wednesday.
It was a tough show for Richard, who was also called out for a “lack of tact.”
Fans demanded he was “taken off air” after he asked awkward questions towards actor Peter Ash over his Coronation Street character Paul Foreman’s latest MND storyline.
Richard told fans on Wednesday’s episode he would be back on Monday.