Good Morning Britain male hosting duties are normally split between Piers Morgan and Ben Shephard, with Piers taking the hot seat Monday to Wednesday and Ben covering the remainder.
But today, occasional host Adil Ray joined Susanna Reid and Charlotte Hawkins.
However, for some viewers, the Citizen Khan star was not an adequate replacement.
Adil, 45, was criticised for being ‘too strait-laced’ in comparison to the show’s regular presenters.
But Adil joked he had no wish to be likened to ex newspaper editor Piers when it was suggested by Susanna on air that he “be a bit more Piers Morgan”.
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“No, no, no! Let’s move on!” Adil flustered as Susanna said he should be less modest and flaunt an award discussed moments earlier on the show before the ad break.
Referring to Adil’s wish to remove the award from in front of camera as the show moved to another segment, Susanna teased that Adil should show more confidence.
She laughed: “Adil said, ‘Can we just get rid of the award now. Let’s just put it away.’ I’m like, ‘Come on!'”
“Be a bit more Piers Morgan!”
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Giggling about her boastful colleague, Susanna continued: “Did you know he won Celebrity Apprentice?”
Unfortunately for Adil, many viewers interpreted Susanna’s words as setting up a comparison between the stand in and regular presenters – and many of Piers’ supporters preferred him on the show.
“Bring back Piers, sorry Adil doesn’t fit GMB. Too strait-laced 👎,” commented one person on Twitter.
“Sorry. There. Only. One. Piers. Just. Can’t. Be. Two,” insisted another.
A third wrote: “Good show Susanna, but I still prefer you and Piers 😀.”
Another person tweeted: “Sorry GMB it’s just not the same without Piers’ gob.”
‘Be a bit more Piers Morgan, @adilray‘… when it comes to showing off your award 🏆says @susannareid100 😊 pic.twitter.com/zrJc0N4RBQ
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 4, 2019
And another fumed: “Who’s this guy presenting this morning? Another boring individual. Please don’t have him on all the summer. You are really scraping the barrel ITV.”
However, not every viewer was disappointed to see Adil back on the panel.
“Fab to see @adilray back on GMB this morn!” enthused one person.
“So much better and watchable,” agreed another.
Another Twitter user contributed: “@adilray you don’t want to be remotely like @piersmorgan. You are so refreshing and I feel calm and relaxed to watch you.”
“Be great if you could permanently supplant the usual Monday to Wednesday irritating one,” suggested another person.
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