Piers Morgan quit 'Good Morning Britain' after ITV bosses gave him an ultimatum.
Piers Morgan
The 55-year-old broadcaster abruptly quit the show following the negative comments he made about the Duchess of Sussex in her tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, but looking back on the controversy, Piers has revealed he simply followed his gut instinct after being asked to apologise.
Recalling the circumstances surrounding his departure from the show, he shared: "ITV executives suggested to me that I should now issue an apology to calm things down.
"But I don't believe Meghan, so why would I apologise?
"As I mused over this conundrum, 'GMB's ratings for yesterday came in and were the highest in our history, breaking a new record we set only last week.
"The show's on fire, in every sense.
"But the flames are now raging uncontrollably towards me.
"To compound my growing twitchiness, I got a text from my old foe Jeremy Clarkson that read: 'I am completely on your side.'
"Oh s***. This must be more serious than I thought. Mid-afternoon, Kevin Lygo, ITV's Director of Television, who I'd spoken to several times since yesterday, rang to say we were now 'on the cliff edge' and either I apologised, or I would have to leave 'GMB'."
Piers - who co-hosted 'Good Morning Britain' with Susanna Reid - spoke to some of his closest friends about whether he should apologise.
The outspoken star also took inspiration from John Ferriter, his former manager, before he opted to follow his gut instinct.
He wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper: "I pondered what my manager John Ferriter, who guided my career for 12 years and persuaded me to do 'GMB' but who sadly died 16 months ago, would have said.
"'Talk to me, John,' I muttered, in a moment reminiscent of that scene in 'Top Gun' where Maverick begs his dead buddy Goose to guide him on what to do after he bugs out of aerial combat with the Russians.
"All I heard back was John's regular refrain: 'Trust your gut!'
"Suddenly, I reached a moment of total gut clarity: f*** it, I wasn't going to apologise for disbelieving Meghan Markle, because the truth is that I don't believe Meghan Markle.
"And in a free, democratic society, I should be allowed not to believe someone, and to say that I don't believe them.
"That, surely, is the very essence of freedom of speech?
"If I said I now believed Meghan, I would be lying to the audience, the very thing I've accused her of doing."
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