Just 18 months after declaring traditional television an “unnecessary straitjacket,” Piers Morgan is making a surprising return to linear broadcasting – though not quite in the way you might expect.
The controversial presenter has struck a deal with Channel 5 to bring his hugely successful YouTube show Piers Morgan Uncensored to Friday night television, starting September 12 at 11pm.
The 90-minute weekly programme will showcase highlights from his digital-first show, marking what’s being called “the first collaboration of its kind” between a YouTube current affairs channel and a traditional broadcaster.
It’s a full-circle moment for Morgan, who famously walked away from linear TV in February 2024, citing the constraints of scheduled broadcasting as incompatible with his ambitions for long-form content.
From Broadcasting Giant to Digital Maverick
Morgan’s journey to this point reads like a masterclass in media reinvention – or disaster recovery, depending on your perspective.
After his dramatic exit from Good Morning Britain in March 2021 – following his controversial comments about Meghan Markle – some assumed his mainstream TV career was finished.
But Rupert Murdoch had other plans. In 2022, Morgan became the star signing for TalkTV, Murdoch’s attempt to shake up British news television.
Piers Morgan Uncensored launched as the channel’s flagship programme, complete with Morgan’s trademark confrontational interviews and no-holds-barred opinions.
The problem? Barely anyone was watching. Despite launching with a Donald Trump interview that grabbed headlines, viewing figures collapsed from 317,000 to just tens of thousands within weeks.
Meanwhile, clips of the same content were racking up millions of views on YouTube. The disconnect was painfully obvious.
TalkTV itself struggled to find its identity, caught somewhere between trying to be Britain’s answer to Fox News and a more mainstream current affairs channel.
Morgan’s show was the biggest draw, but even that wasn’t enough to make the numbers work.
The Great YouTube Escape
By early 2024, Morgan had clearly had enough. He announced he was ditching linear TV entirely to focus on YouTube.
His reasoning was straightforward: “The commitment to a daily show at a fixed schedule, with all the editing and time sensitivities that involves, has been an increasingly unnecessary straitjacket,” he explained.
The numbers backed up his decision – his YouTube channel already had 2.3 million subscribers while his TalkTV show was attracting audiences in the tens of thousands.
The decision to go YouTube-only has proved to be inspired. Piers Morgan Uncensored now has over 4 million subscribers and has passed the billion-view mark – numbers that would make many television executives weep with envy.
More importantly for Morgan, he’s built a genuinely global audience, with more than half his viewers based in the US, where advertising rates are significantly higher.
He’s also gained the freedom he craved. Want to interview someone for three hours? No problem. Feel like doing a quick reaction video to breaking news? Upload it immediately.
The constraints of television scheduling – advert breaks, fixed programme lengths, Ofcom regulations – simply don’t apply.
Earlier this year, Morgan took things a step further by buying the rights to his show from News UK, giving him complete control over the brand through his production company, Wake Up Productions.
Why Channel 5 Makes Sense
For Channel 5 – sorry, just ‘5’ now following this year’s rebrand – landing Morgan represents quite a coup.
The channel has been on something of a roll in 2025, launching 15 new streaming channels, commissioning over 100 hours of original UK drama, and adding NFL broadcasts. They’ve clearly got money to spend and ambition to match.
Federico Ruiz, the commissioning editor who signed the deal, certainly sounds excited: “Our viewers love straight talk, big opinions, and unapologetic personalities – and Piers delivers all three and then some.”
Morgan gets to showcase his content to a traditional TV audience without having to compromise his YouTube operation. 5 gets access to some of the most talked-about content in British media without the headache of actually producing it themselves.
Here’s the thing though – this isn’t really a full return to traditional television.
The YouTube show continues exactly as before, with the Channel 5 version essentially acting as a greatest hits compilation. It’s more like Morgan is using linear TV as a marketing tool for his digital content.
The Friday Night Experiment
What we’ll actually see on Friday nights is “the most explosive debates, jaw-dropping interviews, and headline-grabbing moments” from Morgan’s weekly YouTube output, repackaged for the 5 audience.
Given Morgan’s talent for controversy – and his knack for getting people to say things they probably shouldn’t – there should be plenty of material to choose from.
The 11pm slot is interesting too. Late enough to avoid the family viewing hour, but early enough to catch the news-hungry crowd. It’s prime territory for the kind of provocative content Morgan specialises in.
Piers Morgan Uncensored starts on 5 this Friday, September 12 at 11pm. The full YouTube show, of course, continues as normal.
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Terrible. 5 shouldn’t be giving a platform to someone who is known to be sexist, demeaning, bullying, most likely knowing everything going on in the phone hacking scandal, and generally a terrible person.
Brilliant Coup by Channel Five. I have always enjoyed listening and watching what Piers Produces. ITV Lost a terrific news anchor man, all because of a scumbag weatherman. Piers had every right to air his views on that Markel woman.
I totally agree, Piers is absolutely brilliant and look forward to his new show and you are right too about that dreadful weatherman or as Piers once called him (part-time weather man) Enjoy new show and take care.