Morgan set for Larry King slot

PIERS Morgan is reported to be on the verge of signing a £10 million (€12m) contract that will see him give up his judging seat on Britain’s Got Talent.

The former newspaper editor has been offered the lead presenter role on US channel CNN, where he will take over from Larry King. The contract will see him become one of the highest-paid stars in America but will leave him no time for Britain’s Got Talent.

CNN executives were said to be impressed by his British chat show Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, in which he interviewed former prime minister Gordon Brown. King, 76, has reigned over American television for decades, with the Larry King Show first airing in 1985. But his ratings for the first three months of 2010 slumped to an all-time low of 771,000 viewers, down 43% in the past year.