It’s end of the Piers show

MORGAN QUITS AWARDS

PIERS Morgan has pulled out of hosting the Royal Television Society Programme Awards because of a “silly” campaign to ban him.

The Good Morning Britain host was announced as host on Thursday after accepting because he thought it might be “fun”.

But he has now withdrawn from the March 21 event because of the furore surrounding his appointment.

In a statement on Facebook, he said: “I was recently invited to host the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.

“As someone who has worked in British and American television for most of this Millennium, on a variety of shows, I thought it might be fun and agreed to do it without any fee.

“After my role was announced, a cam- paign was started to have me banned. It suggested I lack the ‘creative excellence’ criteria required for presenting such an event and therefore my presence would be ‘damaging’ and ‘inappropriate’.”

He added: “I have no wish to serve as an unnecessary distraction from award winners whose hard work and skill should be celebrated without any of the silly noise this campaign has generated.

“So, I am now withdrawing from hosting the evening.”

It comes after a series of public spats involving Morgan and celebrities including author JK Rowling and Trainspotting actor Ewan McGregor.

Susanna Reid tweeted in support of her ITV co-host, saying: “As someone who knows what a very good presenter he is, I think this is a real shame.”