Piers Morgan has defended his confrontational approach on Good Morning Britain over the last few months, advising unhappy viewers to simply switch him off.

The 55-year-old has increased his hours on the breakfast show from 7.5 to 12 per week in the wake of the coronavirus crisis and has had numerous fiery encounters with government officials over their handling of the pandemic.

The pugnacious style has resulted in more than 4,000 complaints to TV regulator Ofcom and has led to the government banning all ministers from appearing on the programme.

"If my style upsets people, don't watch," Morgan told The Sun. "Watch something else. Nobody's forcing anyone to watch it. You've got a remote control in your hand, I really don't understand what the problem is.

"I don't care. I only care about Ofcom complaints if I genuinely feel that I have been at fault, then you know you're a fool.

"Ofcom ruled very heavily in my favour, which confirmed my belief that I'm just doing my job. The job of broadcasters, particularly during a crisis like this, is to challenge and ask questions.

"My frustration and anger on air comes about when ministers are completely incapable of answering even basic questions."

Morgan and Susanna Reid will return to GMB on Monday morning after a week's break.