Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway, 53, took the opportunity to pay tribute to Tony Morris who died at the age of 57. The ITV Granada presenter had battled kidney cancer and continued working before coming off the air several weeks ago.
Addressing the heartbreaking news on GMB, they shared a montage of Tony’s best moments with Kate leading the tributes.
She praised Tony for being a “warm and brilliant” presenter during the breakfast show.
The dad-of-two died on Saturday at Bury Hospice surrounded by his daughters Natalie and Rebecca.
The presenter was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2019.
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Tributes have been paid to the ITV Granada reporter, including from his co-presenter Lucy Meacock.
She said: “He was, without doubt, one of the most humble, kind and funny people I have ever met, and he would often make me laugh till my sides ached.”
“I am so very, very sad and my heart goes out to his daughters Nat and Becky.
“A smile from Tony Morris always brightened everyone’s day and certainly brightened up the whole of the North West for 17 years.”
In 2019 he was shortlisted by the Royal Television Society in the Nations and Regions Presenter of the Year category.
Tony’s daughters confirmed the news of his death, taking to Twitter saying: “We lost our incredible dad on Saturday morning. He was more than a parent, he was also our best friend.
“We are utterly heartbroken, but so grateful for the time we had with him. We will be offline with family for a while, but so appreciative of the lovely messages.”
Meanwhile, Kate has revealed her friend Jeremy Kyle has stepped in to help take her children to her husband Derek Draper’s parents’ house safely, as her spouse continues his health battle in hospital after contracting coronavirus in March.